Yongsan at the Center of a Trial for Youth Rental Housing Supply: "Land-Lease Model Needed" vs. "Emotional Backlash"

Potential for Utilizing State-Owned Urban Land Gains Attention

Preventing Privatization of Development Profits, Focusing on Rental Supply

Proposals Include Limiting Development to Certain Transit Areas

Concerns Remain over Damaging Na

The government's consideration of supplying housing, primarily public rental units, for young people in the Yongsan Children's Garden area is expected to intensify debate between the central government and the Seoul city government. Yongsan Children's Garden is part of the land on the western side of Yongsan Park, which is being promoted as a national park, and was temporarily opened to the public in 2023 after being returned earlier than other sections.

This site, located in the heart of downtown and under state ownership, is preferred by young people and newlyweds, allowing the government to expedite related administrative procedures. As a result, it is being regarded as a prime candidate for development. The entire Yongsan Park area, expected to be returned in the future, covers approximately 3 million square meters, with 300,000 square meters (one-tenth of the total) comprising the Children's Garden. A government official stated on August 18, "A concrete housing supply plan has not been finalized," but also noted, "Considering the high likelihood that early buyers would monopolize the development gains, it is highly probable that the plan will focus on providing rental housing."

Experts generally agree that supplying residential land in Yongsan is inevitable, but emphasize the need for a compromise solution. Ham Youngjin, Head of the Real Estate Research Lab at Woori Bank, stressed, "Rather than approaching the issue as a binary choice between building housing in Yongsan or not, it is important to find a way to combine youth housing with the preservation of green space and public value, even if only a portion of the land is used." He added, "It is essential to review new supply models such as land-lease arrangements and to ensure sufficient park or cultural facilities are provided."

Seoul Yongsan Children's Garden area. Photo by Yonhap News

Choi Kyungho, Research Fellow at the Green Transition Institute and a former civilian member of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) Reform Committee, remarked, "The Children's Garden, which is already a park, should be preserved as is. Instead, housing supply should only be considered for areas such as park entrances or some zones near transit stations like South Post, which have not previously been used as green space." He continued, "If part of the area is to be developed as housing sites, it would be necessary to apply public-oriented housing supply models such as cooperative housing or land-lease sales."

Cho Junghun, Chair of the Land and Housing Committee at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, emphasized this was his personal opinion and said, "Since there is no land cost, it appears suitable to use the site for youth-oriented public housing. At the same time, it would be worth considering raising funds through the land-lease model in which construction costs are borne by buyers and rent is reimbursed, enabling these resources to be used for supplying even more youth housing."

There is also strong opposition to developing the Yongsan Garden land for residential purposes. Park Wongap, Real Estate Specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, commented, "Although the intention may be to address the current housing shortage, this move would conflict with the Special Act on Yongsan Park that was promoted by the previous Democratic Party government and could be criticized as self-contradictory for undermining a national symbol." He added, "Considering the government's negative stance on redevelopment in the Jongmyo area, pushing ahead with this project could lead to public backlash against eroding established principles."

Lab Director Ham added, "This is a symbolic policy experiment testing whether state-owned land in downtown Seoul can be used for residential purposes; should social consensus be reached during the public discussion process, it could significantly influence the future use of other downtown state-owned land."

Yongsan Park entrance. Photo by Yonhap News

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