Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon listens to participants at a public forum on real estate normalization held at Seoul City Hall on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon listens to participants at a public forum on real estate normalization held at Seoul City Hall on Thursday. [Yonhap]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has again voiced his opposition to proposals to use land inside Yongsan Park for housing, saying he "cannot agree" with the idea.

In a post on his social media account Saturday, Oh pushed back against speculation that Yongsan Park is being considered as a housing site, saying the plan "directly contradicts the principles established by past Democratic Party governments." He added that he "cannot agree by even 1 centimeter" to any development that would damage Yongsan Park, which he called an asset belonging to future generations.

Oh said former President Roh Moo-hyun had declared Yongsan Park "a precious asset for future generations" and laid down the principle that "not a single building should be constructed above ground." He said the Moon Jae-in administration had also pursued a plan to develop Yongsan Park as a greenery-centered national park in line with the spirit of the Special Act on Yongsan Park Development, enacted in 2007.

"If the idea of building apartments on that site is now being floated, it amounts to overturning the very principles and philosophy that Democratic Party governments themselves established," Oh said.

"Housing supply is important, but there are principles that must be upheld no matter how urgent the situation," he said. "Building apartments by tearing down the last asset future generations should be able to enjoy is not a sustainable urban policy."

Oh also raised the need for green space amid the ongoing heat wave. "This summer's record-breaking heat wave shows that the climate crisis is no longer a matter for the future," he said, adding that green space is "the most reliable urban infrastructure for responding to the climate crisis."

Oh had met with Cheong Wa Dae Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom on Wednesday to convey his opposition to additional greenbelt releases and a housing supply plan for the Yongsan International District.


arin@heraldcorp.com