Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has reaffirmed his opposition to building housing on the former U.S. military base site set to become Yongsan Park.
"There are still differences of opinion over Yongsan Park," Oh said in an interview with Reuters published on the 22nd. "Under no circumstances can I agree to using this land as a site for apartment buildings." On the proposal to supply apartments there, he said the city could not give up "even one centimeter" of the park site.
Reuters framed the dispute as a clash between preserving the living environment and expanding housing supply. The government has floated building homes on part of the Yongsan Park site, while Oh has held to the position that the land should be developed as a park to address Seoul's shortage of green space.
Oh emphasized the need for green space that residents can experience in daily life. "Seoul is a city thirsty for green space," he said, adding that Seoul residents have access to only a quarter as much green space as Londoners.
The Yongsan Park debate comes as the central government and the Seoul city government continue to trade blame over the capital's housing shortage. President Lee Jae-myung said at a recent news conference that part of the responsibility for the shortage of apartments lies with the city government. Oh countered that mortgage lending restrictions and tax increases imposed since the Lee administration took office had created the housing crunch.
On the lending curbs, Oh said: "People with enough cash can actually buy homes more easily, while young people who don't have cash on hand lose their chance to buy a first home entirely."
