A long-standing grievance in Seoul's Gangseo-gu — the blighted Yeomchang neighborhood park site — has finally found a resolution, district officials said Thursday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Thursday that the Yeomchang neighborhood park site and the former Gonghang High School relocation site are among new candidate locations for public housing supply.
The area is officially designated as a park, but business closures within the park and a hillside cut made during past development have left the Yeomchang mountain slope scarred and neglected for two decades. Residents have long complained that the site, which borders the Han River, poses safety risks and blights the urban landscape.
Development within park land is generally prohibited. An exception exists under a private park development scheme, in which a private developer purchases the site, dedicates 70 percent to park use and donates it to the local government, and develops the remaining 30 percent for non-park purposes.
Back in 1990, the district approved a project under that scheme on the condition that the developer build youth cultural facilities, a senior community space and an outdoor performance venue. The developer never fulfilled those conditions, operating only a golf driving range on the site.
The district revoked the developer's designation in 2006 and ordered a forced closure in 2009, but development remained effectively stalled as the large site was split among multiple landowners who changed over time.
To break the deadlock, Gangseo-gu reorganized its administration in 2024, creating a dedicated unit for balanced urban planning and development, and expanded it to a full bureau-level division the following year.
District officials made repeated approaches to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, eventually securing agreement on a public development solution.
The Yeomchang neighborhood park site will undergo public hearings and review by the Central Urban Planning Committee before receiving final designation as a public housing district. Korea Land and Housing Corporation will serve as the project operator, overseeing district designation, site planning, land preparation and housing ground-breaking in an integrated process, with construction targeted for 2029.
Yeomchang neighborhood park covers a total of 111,769.4 square meters, of which the project site — excluding forested areas — spans 50,711 square meters. Plans call for an open green space linked to the existing Yeomchang Park, creating a pleasant living environment accessible to both local residents and future occupants.
"The Yeomchang neighborhood park development project is the starting point for balanced regional development and the fruit of residents' long-held hopes," District Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon said. "We will spare no administrative support to ensure the project proceeds without a hitch."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
