Yongsan's Najin Shopping Arcade to be reborn as 26-story AI and ICT business hub

The area around buildings 17 and 18 of the Najin Shopping Arcade in Seoul's Yongsan Electronics Market is set to be transformed into a mixed-use hub combining next-generation office space, publicly accessible areas and a multi-level pedestrian network.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the architectural review for the Yongsan Electronics Market District Special Planning Zone 8 new construction project cleared the 11th Architecture Committee on Tuesday. The project calls for a complex spanning nine below-ground floors and 26 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of about 155,000 square meters, to be built at 15-2 Hangang-ro 2-ga in Yongsan-gu. The development will include office facilities, neighborhood commercial space and sports facilities.

The site currently holds Najin Shopping Arcade buildings 17 and 18, which received occupancy approval in 1969, and the Yongsan Parking Building, approved in 1988. The project aims to overhaul the aging electronics district's urban environment and expand the new-industry office infrastructure needed to connect the area with the Yongsan International Business District.

The plan focuses on preserving the industrial identity of the existing electronics market while introducing office space suited to emerging industries such as AI and ICT, functionally linking the Yongsan International Business District with the electronics market area.

The lower floors will house neighborhood commercial facilities and open lounges accessible to both residents and tenants. Upper floors will be dedicated to new-industry office space, creating an urban work environment that blends work, exchange and leisure.

The project will also connect publicly accessible open space along Cheongpa-ro with an elevated public pedestrian corridor to create a pedestrian-friendly urban environment. A rest and walking network will link Cheongpa-ro with the interior of the site, securing green space and gathering areas throughout the electronics district and providing rest facilities for both residents and visitors.

The pedestrian environment will also be improved. A 5-meter-wide public walkway connecting Cheongpa-ro with a public parking lot, an elevated public pedestrian corridor along Cheongpa-ro, and a connecting bridge linking adjacent special planning zones will together strengthen the pedestrian network among Yongsan Station, the electronics market and surrounding development sites. The multi-level pedestrian connections are expected to improve accessibility and help activate the streetscape.

Public contribution facilities will include a public parking lot and a Seoul Metropolitan Government veterans' hall. The parking lot, with a total floor area of about 20,000 square meters, will accommodate 400 parking spaces along with bicycle facilities, a garage for disability-accessible call taxis and office space, supplementing existing parking capacity while improving mobility support for people with limited access and promoting eco-friendly transportation.

The veterans' hall, to be built with a total floor area of about 9,000 square meters, will consolidate previously scattered organizations serving national merit recipients and veterans-related groups under one roof and expand public service functions. Designed as an open space connected to a front public plaza, it will improve accessibility and strengthen the site's public character.

Myeong No-jun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Housing Bureau, said the Yongsan Electronics Market area "has a central location in Seoul with strong public transit access, giving it high growth potential for new industries." He added that through this project, "the aging electronics market district will be reborn as a new urban hub equipped with pedestrian and green spaces alongside a foundation for future industries."

Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Najin and Seonin shopping arcades at the Yongsan Electronics Market on Jan. 22, where he pledged to "keep the channels of discussion wide open and make your voices the top priority, so that both the pace of development and the business losses of each and every one of you can be minimized." The city had earlier lifted regulations that had restricted the area to large-scale electronics-only development, and revised the zoning to allow mixed office, commercial and residential development on the condition that at least 30 percent of floor space be dedicated to new-industry uses.