Haeeunjeongsa temple pushes back against Udong Zone 3 redevelopment

Haeeunjeongsa, a traditional Buddhist temple in Busan's Haeundae-gu, is pushing back sharply against a nearby redevelopment project after the Haeundae-gu district office approved a management and disposal plan for the Udong Zone 3 redevelopment association without addressing the temple's repeated objections. The temple plans to file a citizens' audit request with the Busan city government.

According to the Haeundae-gu district office, it notified the Udong Zone 3 Housing Redevelopment Project Association of the management and disposal plan approval last May for the redevelopment project covering the area around 229 Udong, Haeundae-gu. The approval came just over a year after the project implementation plan was officially announced in February 2025.

The association, with Hyundai E&C as its contractor, is pursuing the construction of a 2,395-unit apartment complex comprising 20 buildings — six below-ground floors and 39 above-ground floors — across a 160,727-square-meter site in the Udong area. The management and disposal plan approval issued by the Haeundae-gu district office serves as the legal basis for entering the full ground-breaking phase of the redevelopment project, including the demolition of existing structures.

Haeeunjeongsa has responded with strong opposition. The temple says it has consistently demanded construction of an alternative access road to the temple, creation of a small park inside the apartment complex near the temple entrance, and development of temple-owned land only after reaching an agreement — but that none of these demands were accepted before the management and disposal plan approval was issued.

The temple has been particularly vocal through an advertisement reading, "The Buddha of Busan's Haeeunjeongsa must continue to face the sea of Haeundae as he does now," arguing that it is "not opposed to the construction of the 39-story apartment buildings, but that environmental friendliness, sunlight rights and view rights must be guaranteed as agreed."

The temple also insists that the project must comply with a review by the Traditional Temple Preservation Committee as stipulated in the Act on the Conservation and Support of Traditional Temples, as well as the designation of a "historic cultural preservation zone" within 300 meters as required under the act's enforcement decree. "If 20 buildings of 39-story apartments go up, the traditional temple will be buried in a forest of high-rises," the temple warned.

Haeeunjeongsa was registered as a traditional temple by the Busan city government in 2015. The temple plans to submit a citizens' audit request to the Busan city government on Tuesday, backed by signatures from about 30,000 worshippers, and has separately already filed a lawsuit with the court seeking cancellation of the redevelopment project approval.

A Haeundae-gu district office official said the district had made repeated contact with the temple in an effort to resolve the complaints, adding that it is currently awaiting the outcome of the litigation. The official also said the district understands that the temple itself had not requested a Traditional Temple Preservation Committee review.

The housing association said Building 101, located in front of Haeeunjeongsa, had its height reduced from 39 stories to 10 stories partly in response to the temple's demands when the project implementation plan was approved, and that it had done its best to address the complaints raised by the temple.