Land Minister Kim Yun-duk said the housing supply plan for Yongsan Park does not involve the Children's Garden but rather sites such as the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, officers' quarters and a hospital, all of which will be reviewed through public discussion. Kim added that if talks with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon go well, more than 100,000 additional homes could be supplied in the greater Seoul area, rather than 73,000.
Speaking on CBS Radio on the 27th, Kim said Yongsan Park carries symbolic weight tied to national identity and history, and that those meanings must be preserved. "But housing problems for young people have become more severe than anyone could have imagined in the era when we believed this space, at least, should be left as green space and passed on," he said.
"Not the Children's Garden, but the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Complex 5 of the officers' quarters, and the hospital and school sites — wouldn't those be possible?" he said. "The idea is that we should examine housing for young adults on those sites, and even that will go through a process of public discussion."
Kim added that it has not been decided whether the Yongsan Park housing will be rental units or homes for sale. "We will consider young adults, newlyweds and families with multiple children as priority groups," he said, while also noting: "Given Yongsan's location, it could become a lottery-style rental. Since questions of fairness could arise, rents and eligibility should be decided through social discussion."
The ministry plans to begin a detailed feasibility review of the Tancheon Water Recycling Center site proposed by Mayor Oh. Kim stressed, however, that relocating the facility would not be easy. Citing the case of the Jeonju prison relocation, he said, "Deciding to relocate is the easy part. Selecting the relocation site and location is far more difficult."
"The reality is that the 76,000 homes we will announce as early as the end of next month include none in Seoul," Kim said. "But looked at another way, it means that if talks with Mayor Oh go well, Seoul volume can be added on top of those 76,000 homes." He added, "If just 30,000 or 40,000 homes are added in Seoul, the effect would be an actual supply of more than 100,000 homes in the greater Seoul area."
