District pushes back against plans to build about 7,000 homes on park land and allow phased development; calls for soil contamination checks and infrastructure planning first
Yongsan-gu has come out firmly against a proposed amendment to the Special Act on Yongsan Park Development currently under discussion in the National Assembly.
The district's opposition comes as the government considers supplying about 7,000 homes on the main Yongsan Park site, a move the district says would break a long-standing national promise to build a public park there.
Yongsan-gu issued a statement Monday declaring "clear opposition" to the push to amend the special act now being debated in the Assembly.
The proposed amendment would allow the main Yongsan Park site to be used for housing and other purposes, and would permit the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to draw up park development plans in stages or phases. It also includes provisions to relax green-space requirements for some sites, including Camp Kim.
The district said Yongsan Park has been pursued over more than 30 years on the basis of a national consensus — from the 1990 agreement to relocate the US military base, to the 2006 declaration of a national park, to the passage of the special act with support from both ruling and opposition parties — all built on a promise to hand down a complete ecological and historical park to future generations.
The district also expressed concern that the legislation is being pushed forward without sufficient public input.
Tensions have grown as the government reviews plans to supply about 7,000 homes on the main park site — including the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration site, military apartment complexes and officer quarters — and reports emerged that the amendment could be put to a full Assembly vote as early as Thursday.
Yongsan-gu said a thorough review of environmental safety and urban infrastructure must come before any housing supply moves forward.
"No matter how urgent the situation, you cannot thread a needle from the middle of the thread," the district said, adding that a detailed soil contamination survey and cleanup and safety verification suitable for residential use must be completed first.
The district added that traffic, education and other infrastructure plans to accommodate the new housing must also be put in place.
The district further warned that partial use of the park site could, over time, undermine the very purpose of creating a national park there.
"Once a park's value is damaged, it is hard to restore," the district said, urging an immediate halt to "any attempt to erode the national consensus under the logic of a 'degraded site.'"
Yongsan-gu added that it would "respond without wavering to ensure Yongsan Park is developed into a national park representing Seoul and the Republic of Korea."
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