Told to Relocate to Provinces, Agency Staking Claim to Youth Housing Site?

[Anchor]

The government has established a policy to further relocate public institutions based in the capital area to provincial regions. However, it has been confirmed that one public institution is moving forward with plans to relocate to Yongsan Park in Seoul. While the government is reviewing this site for the supply of rental housing for young people, this agency is even preparing to divert research and development reserve funds to cover its relocation costs.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

This is the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) site located inside Yongsan Park in Seoul.

Located in the northern section of the park, this area was cited by the government last month as a candidate site for new housing supply, including rental housing for young people.

[Kim Yun-duk / Then Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Last month, National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee meeting) : "There is the former DAPA site, and there are sections that have already completely lost their function as green spaces."]

However, it has been confirmed that the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute (DRATRI), an affiliate of the Agency for Defense Development currently based in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, is pushing to relocate to a building on this former DAPA site.

The somewhat aged building behind me was previously used as an office building by the Defense Media Agency.

DRATRI plans to establish its new office in that facility.

According to internal documents obtained by SBS, DRATRI set a budget of 1.88 billion won for building remodeling and infrastructure setup for the office relocation.

It was also revealed that it plans to fund 1.22 billion won of that amount using the Agency for Defense Development's research and development reserve funds.

While the government is pursuing a "second round of public agency relocations" and reviewing Yongsan Park as a candidate site for housing supply, DRATRI appears to be moving into Yongsan Park, running directly counter to the policy of provincial relocation.

Criticism has emerged that the agency is effectively "staking a claim" to stay in Seoul.

[Boo Seung-chan / Member of National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (Democratic Party) : "There could not be a greater policy mismatch than this; it should never happen. Especially amid a housing supply cliff, these matters must be considered very carefully, and institutions should actively align with government policy."]

DRATRI told SBS that "relocation discussions have been conducted in consultation with relevant organizations, including the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, so there is no issue."

However, critics emphasize that a government-level review is urgently needed to examine whether this move adheres to the principle of relocating public agencies to the provinces and whether it aligns with broader plans for the use of the Yongsan Park site.

Video by Oh Young-chun, Lee Seung-hwan, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Lee So-young | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji, Hwang Se-yeon
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.