After the government announced measures on Jan. 29 to expand the supply of downtown dwellings, a post like this appeared on the Yongsan District website's "Suggestions to the district mayor" board. The point was that it is not appropriate to develop the area pushing for the creation of the Yongsan International Business District mainly with apartments. Complaints are said to be pouring in from other sites the government put forward as candidate locations for dwelling supply, including Nowon District (Taereung Country Club), Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province (Gwacheon Racecourse Park and the Defense Security Command site).
These areas are cited as key locations for dwellings the government plans to supply in the greater Seoul area. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 29th it would supply a total of 60,000 units in the city center. That is equivalent to two Pangyo new towns and amounts to 1.7 times the area of Yeouido.
In particular, Taereung Country Club and the International Business District (Yongsan Camp Kim) were included in the Aug. 4 supply measures during the Moon Jae-in administration, but these sites were halted due to resident backlash and various environmental and administrative issues.
For the government's plan to become reality, coordination with local governments is essential. As resident backlash has intensified since the announcement, concerns are mounting that the project will inevitably face setbacks.
Residents' reasons for opposition are similar. Infrastructure such as roads is already saturated, and if the government prioritizes only "volume supply" without follow-up measures on transportation and education, daily inconveniences will inevitably worsen. The Gangbyeonbuk-ro arterial road near Yongsan sees an average of 223,105 vehicles a day. At Hangang Bridge, a gateway into Yongsan, 88,794 vehicles converge.
On Gwacheon-daero (Namhwaeryeong) entering Seoul from Gwacheon, daily traffic reaches 66,465 vehicles. Conditions in Nowon District are similar.
A person surnamed Moon who lives in Nowon District said, "The area near Taereung Country Club is a chronic congestion zone where the entry and exit sections of the Bukbu Arterial Road and Dongbu Arterial Road intersect," adding, "With development extending to nearby areas such as Guri and Namyangju, if 6,800 households are added, traffic congestion will worsen."
As resident backlash continues, local government leaders also find it difficult to remain silent ahead of the June 3 local elections.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has raised criticism daily since the government's announcement. In his opening remarks at the People Power Party–Seoul City real estate policy council held at the National Assembly on the 2nd, Oh said, "Unilateral site selection without verification is a déjà vu of the (Moon Jae-in administration's) Aug. 4 measures," adding, "Even as the president spoke at that very moment, housing prices kept rising."
Oh also noted it was contradictory for the government to oppose development of the Sewoon District in Jongno District on the grounds of damaging cultural heritage value while pushing to supply dwellings at Taereung Country Club, which borders a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Other local governments also say they cannot accept a unilateral announcement without prior consultation. Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young said, "We agree on the need to supply housing, but the Yongsan International Business District is a strategic project that will determine national competitiveness," adding, "We cannot accept increasing volume without consultation with the autonomous district and residents."
Nowon District likewise said, "We agree with the will to supply dwellings," but added, "Rational and sustainable regional development must go hand in hand." Gwacheon Mayor Shin Kye-yong said, "The government should conduct a full reexamination of the plan through consultation with local governments, not through a unilateral decision."