Oh Se-hoon says Yongsan Park development violates special law, with majority of Seoul residents opposed

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon reiterated his opposition Thursday to the government's plan to build housing on part of the Yongsan Park site, calling it a direct violation of the Special Act on Yongsan Park. He said more than half of Seoul residents oppose developing the park and proposed the Tancheon site as a more appropriate alternative. He also urged the government to accelerate housing supply by easing restrictions on the transfer of union membership status and providing other forms of support.

Oh made the remarks at a national audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee at Seoul City Hall on Thursday, where People Power Party lawmaker Joo Ho-young asked him about plans to preserve Yongsan Park, the proposed use of the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site as an alternative housing location, and the current status of those efforts.

In response, Oh said the government's plan to develop apartments on the main Yongsan Park site — particularly on land formerly used for officers' quarters and military apartment complexes — "directly contravenes the Special Act on Yongsan Park." He added that polling of Seoul residents showed nearly half opposed developing the park. "I plan to raise this with the incoming minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as well," he said.

Oh said that even if the Yongsan Park site were used, multiple obstacles would make it impossible to break ground within the current administration's term. "The soil is contaminated, and decontamination alone would take a minimum of three years, possibly six or seven," he said. He added that the Tancheon site was also a long-term plan conceived with a roughly 10-year horizon, and that whether the Tancheon site, a sewage treatment facility site, or Yongsan Park were used, apartments could be delivered at around the same time. "I intend to meet with the incoming Land Ministry minister soon and begin discussions on this matter as well," he said.

On rising housing prices in the greater Seoul area, Oh said public confidence in housing supply was the central issue. "The key question is whether Seoul residents can have a reliable expectation — a real sense of certainty — that supply is coming," he said. "Because they lack that confidence, I believe speculative demand is emerging, with people rushing to buy before prices rise further. I see that as the primary driver of rising home prices."

On the recent surge in apartment prices in outer Seoul, Oh said it was closely tied to rising jeonse and monthly rent costs. "Current government policy emphasizing owner-occupancy is driving jeonse and monthly rent sharply higher," he said. "On top of that, the supply of jeonse units has simply dried up — and that is pushing people toward buying instead."

Oh proposed two measures to the government to speed up housing supply: temporarily easing restrictions on the transfer of union membership status, and providing support for relocation costs.

"If the restriction on transferring union membership status is lifted for just three years on a temporary basis, conflicts within housing redevelopment associations would decrease significantly and supply could accelerate," he said. "That is one concrete way the government can help Seoul."

He added that smoother provision of relocation cost support would also help pick up the pace.