"The Seoul city government cannot agree under any circumstances to repurposing the apartment sites of the main body of Yongsan Park." (Oh Se-hoon, Seoul mayor)
"We plan to remediate the damaged parts of Yongsan Park and, in a limited way, provide dwellings to young people and newlyweds." (Kim Yun-duk, Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport met at Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th and held one hour of talks over a plan to supply rental dwellings on the Yongsan Park site, but failed to find common ground. The two sides reaffirmed their existing positions and ran in parallel. The two agreed to meet again next week to continue discussions.
Immediately after the meeting, Minister Kim said, "I exchanged many views with Mayor Oh on the dwellings issue," and noted, "We confirmed the difference in positions with the Seoul city government." Kim said, "Mayor Oh is, in principle, opposed to using the Yongsan Park site, and I am in favor," and explained, "Given how serious the housing issue is for young people and newlyweds, we talked with the aim of at least joining forces on this part."
Mayor Oh held to a position of "absolutely not." Oh said, "In conclusion, on Yongsan Park we are parallel," and added, "We made clear the position that the Seoul city government cannot agree under any circumstances to repurposing the apartment sites of the main body of Yongsan Park." Oh also said, "If we agree to convert the Yongsan Park site to residential use, we will be left as sinners before history."
◇ Following Yongsan Park, the green belt, too… Oh Se-hoon says "prioritize renewal projects over green space"
The Lee Jae-myung administration is reviewing a plan to use part of the roughly 3 million square meters of Yongsan Park as land for dwellings to supply public rental dwellings for young people. The Seoul city government strongly opposes the plan, citing the need to preserve a large green space in the city center.
The issue of further lifting development restrictions (green belt) within Seoul also made it onto the discussion table that day. To expand dwelling supply in the greater Seoul area, the government is reviewing an additional release of Seoul's green belt. Candidate sites include the area around the reserve forces training ground in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu; undeveloped land in Segok-dong and Jagok-dong, Gangnam-gu; and the area around the Suseo rolling stock depot.
Mayor Oh is also cautious about further releasing the green belt. Even if the green belt is lifted, it takes considerable time before dwellings are actually supplied, and the remaining green spaces in Seoul are assets that must be preserved for future generations.
The reason the Seoul city government is negative about using both Yongsan Park and the green belt is not opposition to dwelling supply itself. The city's logic is that before developing new housing sites, it should prioritize redeveloping and reconstructing already developed urban areas to use land more efficiently.
On the 5th, Mayor Oh met Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom and delivered a report containing the status of promoting Seoul's redevelopment and reconstruction projects and the causes of insufficient dwelling supply. The Seoul city government suggested moving away from demand-suppression-focused measures and easing regulations on renewal projects while activating private supply. It also proposed expanding loan support for relocation expenses, easing restrictions on the transfer of association members' status, and expanding private rentals and non-apartment supply.
◇ Over three years, a net 36% increase in the number of dwellings through renewal projects confirmed
The Seoul city government emphasizes that renewal projects alone can significantly increase dwellings.
An analysis by the Seoul city government of 59 renewal projects completed in Seoul over the past three years found that, compared with before the projects, dwellings increased by a total of 20,000 units. The growth rate was 36.4%.
In the case of redevelopment projects, the number increased by about 7,000 units, or 27.4%, compared with before, and in reconstruction projects, it rose by about 13,000 units, or 44.2%. Even as existing dwellings were demolished and new apartments were built, the total number of dwellings increased significantly.
Based on this net increase effect in dwellings from renewal projects, the Seoul city government has set a goal to start construction on 310,000 units across 253 renewal project sites by 2031 through measures such as the fast-track integrated plan. Among them, 48,000 units will be secured as rental dwellings.
By the Seoul city government's estimate, if this plan proceeds normally, Seoul's dwellings could see a net increase of about 87,000 units, excluding the number of existing dwellings lost.
In particular, among renewal districts close to the relocation or groundbreaking stage, 85,000 units will be intensively managed as "core strategic renewal districts" with the aim of starting construction within three years. The city also aims to shorten the typical renewal project period, which used to take more than 20 years, to as little as 12 years.
The Seoul city government will also expand support for relocation loan financing by using the Housing Promotion Fund. In Seoul, where there is almost no idle land left, the city believes it is more realistic to accelerate supply by developing existing residential areas into high-density, mixed-use spaces rather than seeking new housing sites.
A Seoul city official said, "Our logic is not 'don't build houses,' but that it is not necessary to eliminate green space to build houses," and added, "If we can speed up renewal projects and reorganize the existing city more efficiently, it will not be too late to consider methods that damage green spaces with high preservation value afterward."