City says land-use change was stipulated in pre-sale conditions

JYP announced withdrawal while negotiations were still ongoing, Seoul says

City calls on JYP to stop misleading public and clarify its position

A rendering of JYP Entertainment's planned new headquarters in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu. [Gangdong-gu]
A rendering of JYP Entertainment's planned new headquarters in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu. [Gangdong-gu]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government expressed regret Friday over what it called a misleading impression that the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation alone was responsible for JYP Entertainment's decision to abandon plans for a new headquarters in Gangdong-gu.

In a clarification statement released Friday, the city said the possibility of changes to the land-use plan around the new JYP headquarters site had been explicitly stated in the pre-sale conditions, and that the conversion of the adjacent park was a lawful procedure carried out to secure funding for school facilities.

According to the city, the pre-sale announcement issued in September 2023 stated that "the land-use plan for the pre-sale site may be changed due to permit revisions and other factors." The Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation applied for the park conversion under the School Site Act to secure funding for school facility construction, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved it.

The city said JYP had continued its design and permitting work even after the park conversion was made public, without raising any official objections during that period. "JYP applied for architectural review after the park-site conversion was officially announced and proceeded with the building permit process, receiving approval in April," the city said. "No official objection was raised to either the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation or the Seoul Metropolitan Government during that entire period, and the first complaint came the day after the permit was issued."

The city said the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation had since drawn up a compromise proposal accommodating JYP's demand for an open frontage and had been in discussions with the company when JYP announced its withdrawal.

"The Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation notified JYP that while restoring the site to its original state was not feasible, it would put the supply announcement on hold and was willing to flexibly revise the land-use plan — including designating a low-rise zone of five floors or fewer along the frontage — if JYP wanted an open front," the city said. It added that JYP had told the corporation it wished to continue negotiations, then announced its withdrawal and issued a statement placing all blame on the corporation.

JYP Entertainment has ultimately scrapped its plan to build a new headquarters in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu.

JYP said Thursday it had held multiple rounds of talks with the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation and the Gangdong-gu district office since April, when it first learned of the land-use change on the plot in front of the planned headquarters site, and had explored various options to keep the project alive — but had ultimately decided to cancel it.

The planned Godeok-dong headquarters was to have a total floor area of 69,259 square meters across five basement levels and 17 above-ground floors, featuring large rehearsal rooms, a grand auditorium, office space for staff, an 800-seat performance venue and photo zones. The project ran into trouble after the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation rezoned a neighborhood park in front of the planned site to allow an 18-story commercial building.

JYP strongly objected, saying a high-rise building in place of the park could create problems including threats to artists' privacy.

JYP said it received an official response from the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation on Aug. 31 stating that "there were no procedural issues with the land-use change in front of the headquarters site and that restoring it to a park was not possible." The company said it had concluded it could no longer proceed with the project given that what it considered a core condition for the development had changed.

"Just as a company's brand matters to JYP, Seoul's reputation and credibility matter to us as a city government," the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. "We ask that JYP stop misleading public opinion and make its position clear."


ikson@heraldcorp.com