"Not Empty Land, Build Houses Elsewhere": Yongsan Park Covered with 300 Protest Wreaths

Residents' Group Issues Statement Opposing Housing Supply

"Park Land Should Be Passed Down to Future Generations"

The "Yongsan Park Protection Residents' Group" has opposed the government's consideration of housing supply in Yongsan Children's Garden by pooling funds and installing 300 protest wreaths.

Composed of over 1,000 local residents from Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the "Yongsan Park Protection Residents' Group" held a press conference in front of Yongsan Children's Garden at 2:40 p.m. on August 8, along with Assemblyman Kwon Youngse of the People Power Party and district council members, urging the government to withdraw the housing supply plan.

Amid the government's consideration of creating rental housing and other facilities in part of the Yongsan Base site, specifically the Yongsan Children's Garden, a condolence wreath was placed near the entrance of Yongsan Children's Garden in Seoul on the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Initially, the residents considered holding protests on the 10th or 11th, but after internal discussion, they moved up the schedule to the weekend so that more passersby could see the protest wreaths. It is reported that around 300 wreaths were prepared, with the cost shared individually by the residents.

The wreaths featured messages such as "A park is not just empty land. It is the future for our children," "Yongsan Children's Garden is not for development, but is a national asset that must be preserved," and "Provide housing elsewhere—preserve the park for future generations."

The residents' group is made up of Yongsan-gu residents and began organizing when the government started promoting an expanded scale of housing supply in Yongsan International Business District. Previously, during discussions on increasing housing in the Yongsan International Business District, the group had also staged their opposition by installing about 100 protest wreaths.

Yongsan Children's Garden covers around 300,000 square meters of land out of the nearly 3 million square meters returned from the former U.S. military base at Yongsan, and has been temporarily open to the public since 2023. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport oversees the Yongsan Park development project, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) operates the site.

Last month, the government began considering using the Children's Garden area, after 137,000 square meters of restricted protection zone outside the Ministry of National Defense perimeter was lifted, as land for housing supply. The government plans to review the size of possible housing supply, taking into account the available area, floor area ratio, and how much of the park should be preserved.

However, the current "Special Act on the Establishment of Yongsan Park" stipulates that the land returned from the U.S. military base is to be made into a national park and prohibits changing its use or disposing of it for other purposes. Therefore, a legal amendment would be required before supplying housing in the area. In addition, investigation and remediation of soil contamination on the returned land must also be carried out. To provide housing in the Children's Garden, either an exception clause allowing public housing would need to be enacted, or the designated area would need to be separated from the park development district.

Meanwhile, on August 6, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon expressed his opposition at the "Great Citizen Debate for Real Estate Normalization" held at Seoul City Hall, stating, "Yongsan Park is a space that the government and the city must take responsibility for preserving and passing on to future generations," and adding, "Not even part of it should be used for housing supply."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.