[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Oh Sehoon: "Develop Yongsan Park into Apartments? Defies Special Act"

Reiterates opposition to government plan to use Yongsan Park for housing
Limits to housing supply... "Soil cleanup takes 6-7 years"
Cause of rising home prices... "Prices are rising even in areas where they hadn't before"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon made clear his opposition to the government’s plan to use part of the Yongsan Park site for housing, saying it “directly contravenes the Yongsan Park Special Act.” He cited “uncertainty over housing supply and difficulties in the jeonse and monthly rental markets” as the causes of rising home prices in Seoul.

At the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s audit by the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee on the morning of the 15th, Mayor Oh responded to a question from Rep. Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party, saying, “The government’s plan to develop part of the main Yongsan Park site—particularly the officers’ quarters or military apartment sites—as apartments directly contravenes the Yongsan Park Special Act.”

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon reviews documents at the 2026 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

He noted, “The Yongsan Park Special Act was enacted after a national consensus had been formed,” adding, “Under the law, amending the act is necessary to repurpose even part of the main site.”

He also pointed to the limitations of using the site for housing. “Even if Yongsan Park is used, there are obstacles that make it impossible to even begin construction during this administration,” Mayor Oh said. “For example, the soil is contaminated, and cleaning it up would take at least three to four years, or even six to seven years.” He explained, “Since it would take a long time anyway, we proposed an alternative on the grounds that apartments could be supplied at almost the same time as those using Yongsan Park, even if the Tancheon site were used for a sewage treatment plant, because the plan for the Tancheon site was drawn up with a 10-year outlook.”

He also described public sentiment regarding opposition to developing Yongsan Park. “The Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted an urgent opinion poll among Seoul residents, and close to two-thirds oppose the development,” he said. “Nearly half of Seoul residents are opposed, saying it is absolutely unacceptable.”

Regarding the recent rise in home prices, he said, “The key is whether residents can have a clear outlook and confidence about housing supply,” adding that “the first and foremost cause is pent-up demand from people thinking they need to buy before prices rise further.” He also noted that “apartment prices have recently continued to rise in areas outside Gangnam and on the outskirts of Seoul,” and analyzed that the increases were closely linked to rising jeonse and monthly rental prices in those areas. Mayor Oh said, “Our analysis shows that apartment prices are continuing to rise in areas on the outskirts where they had not risen in the past, particularly in the northeastern and southwestern districts.”

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