Seoul mayor says backing housing at Yongsan Park would make him 'a sinner in history'

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has again voiced his opposition to the government's plan to build housing inside Yongsan Park, saying he would become "a sinner in history" if he ever agreed to convert any part of the park into an apartment site.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that Oh released a roughly 15-minute video in which he walks through Yongsan Children's Garden to explain the city's position on the housing controversy. The video, part of a series called "One-Shot Mayor," covers the case for preserving the park, arguments over so-called "damaged sites," the return of the US military base and soil decontamination, traffic and infrastructure concerns, and alternative housing supply options.

Oh said the roughly 2.97 million-square-meter Yongsan Park site is a historically significant space that housed Chinese, Japanese and American military forces for more than 120 years. He argued the park should be developed into a landmark green space — comparable to New York's Central Park or London's Hyde Park — given the shortage of walkable neighborhood greenery in central Seoul.

Oh also rebuffed the government's proposal to build housing on sites already occupied by existing structures, such as military apartment complexes, officer quarters and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration compound. He said labeling those sites as "damaged" simply because buildings remain on them is wrong, since they were already designated for demolition and restoration as green space.

He also noted that all of those sites fall within the core zone defined under the Special Act on the Creation of Yongsan Park. Oh warned that allowing any portion of the core zone to be used for housing could set a precedent for developing other areas of the park depending on future market conditions.

Oh said the park is also essential for the city's response to climate change. "Neighborhoods with more shade and more grass and trees can differ in average temperature by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius or more," he said, adding that securing green space is directly tied to residents' quality of life.

Oh also flagged the time required to build housing on the site. He noted that Yongsan Children's Garden, currently open on a temporary basis, sits on a layer of topsoil placed over contaminated ground, and that any long-term residential use would require thorough remediation of soil containing dioxins and other hazardous substances.

He said the process — from the return of the US base through soil cleanup, zone designation, urban planning and permitting to the start of construction — could take anywhere from seven or eight years to as long as a decade. That timeline, he said, makes the site an impractical option for quickly addressing the city's housing shortage.

Oh also raised concerns about traffic and infrastructure. He said putting 10,000 to 20,000 households inside Yongsan Park could cause a sharp surge in traffic on Hangang-daero, Noksapyeong-ro, Seobinggo-ro and Itaewon-ro, and would require entirely new water, sewage, electricity and gas infrastructure. "Pursuing housing supply without a precise plan is deeply irresponsible," he said.

In place of housing at Yongsan Park, Oh put forward three alternative supply options. The first is to support the ground-breaking of 310,000 housing units through redevelopment and reconstruction projects by 2031, securing a net increase of 87,000 units after accounting for demolished homes.

He also proposed using land freed up by relocating urban infrastructure facilities such as water reclamation centers. The city said some of those sites could accommodate more than 10,000 units.

Oh had raised the same alternatives — including the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site — at a luncheon meeting with Kim Young-bae, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul chapter, on Saturday. His point was that, given the years of soil remediation, zone designation and permitting that Yongsan Park would require regardless, alternative sites could realistically deliver housing at roughly the same time.

Expanding youth housing supply and strengthening financial support were also offered as alternatives. The city said it has supplied about 30,000 youth-friendly housing units over the past four years and plans to add 17,000 more during Oh's current term. Including dormitory-style, shared and studio units, the total youth housing pipeline stands at 76,000 units.

Oh drew a line against suggestions that his opposition to housing at Yongsan Park is politically motivated. He said he has maintained since taking office in 2006, at the start of his first elected term, that the entire core site of the former US military base should be developed as a park.

"Looking at public opinion among Seoul residents, about two-thirds oppose using even part of Yongsan Park as an apartment site, and nearly half of those — 46.7 percent — are strongly opposed," he said. "I believe there is a civic consensus that Yongsan Park, at least, should be completed in full, as a park, as originally planned."

"I feel the weight of responsibility — that if I were to support converting even part of Yongsan Park into an apartment site, I would be a sinner in history for a long time to come," Oh said. "If citizens support the city's position through public opinion, it will be a great help in protecting Yongsan Park."