Seoul mayor warns against using Yongsan Park to paper over housing failures

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at a forum hosted by the People Power Party's Seoul chapter and the Seoul Metropolitan Government at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the government's reported consideration of Yongsan Park as a large-scale housing supply site, saying the park's preservation "is a promise and a principle upheld by every administration regardless of political camp" and that reversing course for the sake of quick results "undermines the credibility of governance itself."

Speaking at a forum on "blocked supply and punitive taxation" jointly hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the People Power Party's Seoul chapter at the National Assembly on Wednesday morning, Oh said moves to push ahead with apartment construction in Yongsan Park were "deeply concerning." "The government must not try to cover up its failure to rein in housing prices by sacrificing Yongsan Park," he said.

Oh noted that Yongsan Park is Seoul's last large expanse of green space, pointing out that the city's walkable park area amounts to just 5.7 square meters per person. "Compared with major global cities such as New York and London, the green space available to residents in their daily lives is woefully inadequate," he said. "That is precisely why Yongsan Park must be preserved as a space for leisure, rest and natural ecology."

Oh also took aim at the Aug. 3 tax reform proposal, saying it "reveals a view that treats government intervention in people's lives as entirely natural" by using taxes and lending restrictions to compel owner-occupancy. "The current administration is treading an even harsher version of the path taken by past Democratic Party governments, which branded homeowners as speculators simply for owning a high-value property or for not living in it themselves," he said.

Oh also said the ruling camp held a distorted understanding of youth housing issues. "Converting old buses into living spaces or removing desks from goshiwon study rooms and installing bathtubs will not solve the youth housing problem," he said. "The government's role is to build a ladder that helps young people climb to something better."

Oh argued that the government should look to Seoul's redevelopment projects — the orthodox approach — as the real alternative for housing supply. "If planned redevelopment projects proceed normally, ground-breaking on 310,000 units by 2031 is achievable," he said, calling on the government to first lift regulations slowing project timelines, including restrictions on transferring union membership status, floor-area-ratio rules for private redevelopment and mandatory rental housing ratios in redevelopment schemes.

"Seoul will cooperate with the central government where cooperation is warranted," he added. "However, we will firmly oppose any policy that harms the property rights, housing rights and quality of life of Seoul residents, and we will see our position through."

Oh is scheduled to meet Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yun-deok on Thursday to discuss housing supply at Yongsan Park. With the Seoul Metropolitan Government having made its determination to defend the park clear, attention is turning to whether the ministry will be able to reach an agreement with the city.

hope@heraldcorp.com
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