Cho Kuk says Oh Se-hoon's Tancheon plan is really about boosting Gangnam property values

Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's innovation policy research institute, on Thursday criticized Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's plan to build housing on the site of the Tancheon Water Regeneration Center in Gangnam, calling Oh "the mayor of Gangnam, where Gangnam comes before the youth housing crisis." Cho said Oh's claim that the plan is a more realistic alternative than using the Yongsan Park site lacks credibility, given that relocating the Tancheon facility would take considerable time and that conflict over a replacement site is inevitable.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Cho said Oh had announced plans to relocate the Tancheon Water Regeneration Center and develop the site into a physical AI industrial complex and a residential complex centered on youth housing. "On the surface, he put forward resolving the youth housing crisis as his justification, but in reality the plan is closer to maximizing the value of a prime Gangnam location," Cho said.

Cho said Oh was applying a double standard when comparing the Yongsan Park site option with the Tancheon relocation plan. "Oh's own stated Tancheon relocation plan calls for four to five years to move the facility and another four to five years to build the housing," Cho said. "Simply adding those figures together gives eight to ten years — the same as the Yongsan Park option."

"The proper sequence is to first identify a community that can accommodate a large-scale sewage treatment facility and listen to its residents," Cho said. "When you factor in the time needed for the acceptance process, permits and infrastructure construction, completing the relocation quickly is not easy. Oh's arithmetic is selective."

Cho also raised the possibility that relocating the Tancheon Water Regeneration Center could trigger fresh regional conflict. He noted that the center currently sends its waste to the Nanji Water Regeneration Center in Goyang because concerns over drinking water protection and local sentiment have prevented the installation of a waste treatment facility on site.

Cho then cited the case of the wide-area resource recovery facility in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu. "The Seoul Metropolitan Government went to court against residents over plans to expand the incinerator in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu," he said. "It tried to unilaterally add a 1,000-ton facility on top of an existing incinerator there, lost at both the first and second trial, and ultimately dropped its appeal."

"Yet it is doing the exact opposite when it comes to expectations of rising property prices in Gangnam and resolving odor complaints there," Cho said. "It is spending trillions of won to relocate public infrastructure out of Gangnam while promoting the area as a prime location."

Cho also criticized Oh's plan to develop a physical AI industrial complex alongside youth housing on the Tancheon site, calling it a move to "talk up Gangnam real estate."

"There are already predictions circulating around the Tancheon Water Regeneration Center that removing the sewage treatment facility would make it one of the most sought-after locations even within Gangnam," Cho said. "Attracting companies through physical AI is likely to act as a catalyst for rising property values in the surrounding area."

Cho also questioned the public interest credentials of the proposed youth housing supply model, taking aim at Oh's suggestion to sell off the Dongbu Road Office and SETEC sites and use the proceeds to attract private investment.

"Housing built through private investment inevitably prioritizes profitability over public benefit," Cho said. "There is a strong risk of repeating a development structure in which the public bears the costs while the private sector takes the profits."

Cho also directed a message at Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok, urging her to "hold the line." "The original purpose of using the Yongsan Park site is youth and green space," he said. "The government must not be dragged along by Mayor Oh's blatant Gangnam-centric development policy."