Seongnam Mayor Sangjin Shin: "Don't Take Away Seoul's Lungs... The Answer to Housing Supply Is Seongnam"

Mayor Shin Sangjin Opposes Yongsan Park Development via Social Media
Proposes Bundang Reconstruction and Relaxation of Seoul Airport Height Restrictions

Sangjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has expressed opposition to the plan to develop Yongsan Park into an apartment complex, and instead proposed the reconstruction of Bundang New Town and the relaxation of building height restrictions around Seoul Airport as alternatives for housing supply in the greater Seoul area.

Sangjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam City.

On August 22, through social media, Mayor Shin stated, “Filling Yongsan Park with apartment complexes will become a regrettable mistake in the future,” and added, “No matter how desperate the demand for large housing sites may be, there is no reason to cut off Seoul's vital green space.”

He emphasized, “A viable alternative is already prepared in Seongnam,” and pointed first to the need for rapid advancement of the Bundang New Town reconstruction project.

Mayor Shin said, “Instead of spending time searching for new housing sites while damaging the ecosystem, we should accelerate the reconstruction of Bundang, which already has established infrastructure,” and added, “Bold support measures for pilot districts and decisive regulatory easing will be the fastest and most reliable breakthrough for housing supply in the metropolitan area.”

He also argued for the rational relaxation of the building height restrictions imposed by Seoul Airport in order to enable high-density development in the old downtown areas of Seongnam.

Screenshot of Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin's Facebook homepage

Mayor Shin pointed out, “Sujeong and Jungwon districts have been subject to outdated regulations for nearly half a century,” and emphasized, “Even if the height restrictions are just reasonably eased, we can supply large quantities of high-quality new housing through redevelopment of the city’s older districts.”

He added, “This is a key alternative that can achieve the central government’s housing targets without destroying existing parks,” and stated, “Seongnam City is always ready to work with the central government to address the greater Seoul housing issue and expand the transportation network.”

Mayor Shin concluded by urging, “Please protect Seoul’s lungs,” and stressed, “The solution for housing supply lies in Seongnam.”

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