Kim Yoon-duk and Oh Se-hoon Meet, But Fail to Bridge Differences

[Anchor]

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-duk and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon held a one-on-one meeting today (August 20) to discuss utilizing Yongsan Park for housing supply, but failed to narrow their differences. However, they agreed on the principle of preserving Yongsan Park and the need to expand housing supply for young adults and newlywed couples, leaving the door open for further discussions.

Reporter Kim Hye-min has the details.

[Reporter]

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-duk and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met at a restaurant in Seoul this morning.

This marks their first official meeting since the government announced its August 13 housing supply measures.

The talks took place as the city of Seoul and Yongsan-gu strongly opposed the government's review of areas around Yongsan Park, including the Yongsan Children's Garden, as candidates for new housing supply.

After a brief one-hour meeting, the two officials met with reporters separately and stated that they confirmed their differing stances.

[Kim Yoon-duk / Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport : We are talking about purifying contaminated areas and providing housing on a limited basis for young adults and newlyweds. Weren't the areas used as officer quarters already built on and lived in? We take the stance that sites of that scale are feasible.]

In particular, Minister Kim emphasized public debate, stating, "We will go through a deliberation process, such as public hearings and a public deliberation committee, to find compatible solutions."

On the other hand, Mayor Oh maintained that it is difficult to agree to convert even a portion of the land for residential use.

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul : I clearly stated that it is difficult to agree to repurposing even a limited area for residential use. Agreeing to that would result in me remaining as a sinner before history as the Mayor of Seoul.]

However, he offered a compromise, suggesting that surrounding sites outside the main park itself could be utilized.

Examples include the Camp Kim site, the Gyeongnidan-gil site, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs parking lot site.

Differences over the scale of housing supply in the Yongsan International Business District were also not resolved during the meeting.

The government is demanding the supply of 10,000 households, while Seoul has increased its offer from an initial 6,000 households to 8,000 households, but an agreement has not yet been reached.

Minister Kim signaled further discussions, stating, "We accurately confirmed our differences today and will meet next week to sort things out."

(Camera Reporter: Joo Beom | Video Editor: Lee Seung-hee)

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