Blue House: "Some of Yongsan Park Could Be Used for Youth Housing...Special Law Revision Also Under Review"

"Turning the Entire 910,000 Pyeong into a Park Would Be Unprecedented Worldwide... Housing and Park Use Should Be Considered Together"

"A Clause Allowing Partial Exclusion Could Be Considered in Case of Significant Public Interest"

Ha Jun-kyung, Senior Secretary for Economic Growth at the Blue House, stated on August 19 that the government could consider utilizing part of the Yongsan Park site as residential space, including youth housing. He also mentioned the possibility of amending the existing special law concerning Yongsan Park to enable this plan. With the government recently driving an expansion of housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area, this indicates a willingness to revisit from scratch the principle that the returned U.S. military base land in Yongsan should be used solely for park development.

Ha Jun-kyung, Senior Secretary for Economic Growth at the Blue House

Appearing on TV Chosun’s "News Parade" on the same day, Secretary Ha said regarding the use of Yongsan Park, "We should take a moment to consider what to do with the entire 910,000-pyeong area," adding, "Some parts can become a park, and other parts are being considered for youth housing."

In particular, Secretary Ha opened the door to amending the current law, which prohibits changing the use of or selling Yongsan Park land for purposes other than a park. He stated, "I think there is a social consensus that arbitrary selling or other uses are obviously unacceptable," but added, "We could consider including a provision stating that, if there is a significant public interest, a portion of the land may be excluded through review." This means that while simple sales or private development should be excluded, there should be a legal pathway to utilize part of the park site for alternative purposes if the public interest—such as youth housing—can be justified.

Secretary Ha also said it is necessary to reconsider whether it is optimal to develop the entire Yongsan Park area solely as a park. He noted, "Yongsan Park covers 910,000 pyeong, while inside the Yeouido embankment is 880,000 pyeong," emphasizing, "Turning a plot even larger than Yeouido entirely into a park would result in a scale that is rarely seen globally."

He further explained, "The value of a park comes when many people use it," and pointed out, "When you go to Yongsan Children’s Garden, there are not many users. It is critically important for such prime land to be well utilized." He argued that even if a large urban park is created, factors like accessibility, actual utilization rate, and management costs must all be considered together.

Secretary Ha was clear, however, that supplying housing on the Yongsan Park site does not mean abandoning the park development altogether. He said, "Providing housing does not mean we will not create a park," and added, "Parks are more actively used when they are of a reasonable size and easily accessible." He continued, "We can consider it as a way to leave both good residential spaces and a good environment to future generations."

He emphasized that the focus for potential housing supply would be on public residences for the younger generation, rather than private sales. Secretary Ha said, "It is basically difficult to go in the direction of simply selling this to private parties and dividing it up," and "I consider it a public asset." He continued, "We are thinking about making it a place where young people can live well, marry, and even raise families."

Regarding the government’s metropolitan area supply plan announced last week, which targets more than 230,000 new housing units, Secretary Ha stressed that the key is to resolve the ‘construction cliff.’ He explained that while the Park Geun-hye administration averaged 295,000 housing starts per year, and the Moon Jae-in administration averaged 283,000, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has seen this drop sharply to 158,000. "From 2022 to 2024, housing starts fell, and the effects are now appearing," he said. "The supply of new homes for occupancy has dropped by nearly half, which has become the root of all the problems." He further explained, "The key feature of this plan is to supply housing at the largest possible scale, about 300,000 units annually, and to move forward with great speed."

Regarding the debate in the previous day's Cabinet meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon over the easing of reconstruction and redevelopment regulations, Secretary Ha emphasized, "It's not that we are opposed to reconstruction and redevelopment." He noted, "This plan includes various incentives for speeding up reconstruction and redevelopment," but clarified, "Easing regulations fundamentally means boosting business feasibility, and if we improve feasibility, it could have the effect of raising local housing prices, which is the point the president was making." He added, "Reconstruction and redevelopment take a great deal of time and involve complex interests. Given how poor young people's housing situations are, we must consider all available options."

Meanwhile, regarding reports that the Blue House itself is directly considering a public opinion survey on housing supply in Yongsan Park, the Blue House clarified, "As for the utilization of Yongsan Park, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently conducting discussions with relevant agencies and collecting public opinions as part of broader social discussions," and "Specific methods, actors, and timing for collecting opinions, such as opinion polls, have not yet been determined."

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