Seoul rebuffs architect Yu's criticism of land-use change near JYP's new headquarters

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has pushed back against public criticism from Hongik University architecture professor Yu Hyun-jun, who accused the city of improperly rezoning a park site in front of JYP Entertainment's planned new headquarters.

Yu designed JYP's new headquarters. In 2023, JYP purchased a 10,675-square-meter retail-use plot in the Godeok-dong area for about 75.5 billion won ($55.7 million) to build the facility.

A park site 20 meters from the planned headquarters was subsequently reclassified as a self-sufficient support facility zone — a designation used to attract corporate, office and research facilities in order to create local jobs and an economic base. The change opened the door for high-rise construction on the site.

Last month, Yu criticized the rezoning of the park site in the Godeok Gangil district on YouTube, saying Seoul Housing & Communities Corp. (SH) "changed the park into commercial land to raise money it needed right away" and that the move was "no different from eliminating Yongsan Park and putting housing there."

The city pushed back in a clarification statement issued Thursday, saying the park adjustment in the Godeok Gangil district and the development of Yongsan Park "are entirely different projects in terms of legal basis, public interest, purpose and the legal status granted to the parks, and cannot be compared by the same standard."

The city also said that under the Special Act on Securing School Sites, the Godeok Gangil district is permitted to reduce parks and green space by up to 1 percent of the total development area as a means of fulfilling its obligation to build school facilities for future generations and covering the associated costs.

"SH and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport adjusted the park site through consultation in accordance with that provision," the city said, adding that the district plan was revised only after the Godeok Gangil district had already met 140 percent of the mandatory parks and green space requirement.

The city also said JYP had been aware in advance that the rezoning could occur.

"The pre-sale announcement on Sept. 4, 2023 explicitly stated that the land-use plan for surrounding plots could change," the city said. "The site was reclassified as a self-sufficient support facility zone on Oct. 24, 2025, and JYP's new headquarters received its building permit on April 15, 2026 — six months after that."

The city said the claim that JYP was blindsided by SH was "not appropriate," given that the building permit was processed six months after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved the reclassification. "The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been continuously working to support the construction of JYP's new headquarters," it added.