Lawmaker urges review of Seongdong Police Station site development, saying commercial and office functions should drive local economy
A call has been raised to develop the transit-oriented area around Wangsimni Station in Seoul's Seongdong-gu by strengthening office and commercial functions rather than expanding residential facilities.
The argument is that Wangsimni's role as a major transportation hub should be used to breathe new life into the area's sluggish commercial district and anchor a business town capable of driving the local economy.
Seongdong-gu Assembly member Park Ham-wit of the People Power Party laid out this position Thursday during an administrative audit of the district office, in connection with development plans for the Seongdong Police Station site and the broader Wangsimni area.
Park said he was particularly concerned about a mixed-use development plan that would combine the main Seongdong Police Station building with youth housing and other residential facilities.
"A police station headquarters is different in character from an ordinary public facility," he said. "Because it operates around the clock as a public-safety facility, a range of problems could arise — noise from emergency dispatches, security concerns, and the need to separate circulation routes between the station and residential units."
His point was that mixed-use development with residential facilities should not proceed without fully accounting for the unique nature of a police station headquarters.
Park also said Wangsimni's locational strengths should not be channeled solely into housing supply.
"Wangsimni is Seongdong-gu's traditional center and a key transportation hub for northeastern Seoul, yet the surrounding commercial district has not fully recovered its former vitality," he said. "Rather than approaching this important site purely from the perspective of housing supply, development should be directed toward reviving the Wangsimni commercial district and the local economy."
He also highlighted the potential for Wangsimni to strengthen its role as a central hub as transportation conditions improve, including the planned opening of the GTX-C line.
"As Wangsimni's transport accessibility and central functions are expected to grow further, its locational strengths should be used not just to expand residential facilities but to concentrate office and commercial functions — such as developing a business town — and turn that into an opportunity to revitalize the local economy," Park said.
Seongdong-gu said it would take a close look at the potential problems posed by a mixed-use development combining the police station with residential facilities.
Yoo Ok-hyeon, director of the district's urban management bureau, said the main police station building has unique characteristics in terms of security and operations that set it apart from an ordinary police substation, and that the district would carefully review the feasibility of separating circulation routes between the station and residential units, as well as the overall architectural plan.
While the policy direction of expanding housing supply must be considered, any problems that could arise from combining a police station with residential facilities need to be thoroughly discussed during the relevant agencies' review of the development plan, Yoo said.
The Wangsimni transit-oriented development project is a major undertaking that will shape the area's role as a district center and its economic structure going forward. The central question of whether to prioritize housing supply or the expansion of office and commercial functions has emerged as a key issue.
"The Wangsimni transit-oriented development is a crucial project that will determine the area's future," Park said. "It must be developed in a way that does not tilt toward residential use alone, but instead achieves a balance of office, industrial and commercial functions that can make a real contribution to the local economy."
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