"Tancheon Instead of Yongsan": Seoul Mayor Proposes Alternative Site for Housing

[Anchor]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has proposed the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center in Gangnam as an alternative site for housing supply, instead of the Yongsan Children's Garden. He argued that the site is larger and has better transportation than Yongsan, making it possible to supply at least 10,000 homes. With positions sharply divided between the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Mayor Oh and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok are set to meet again tomorrow (August 26).

Reporter Yun Nara has the details.

[Reporter]

Stepping into the park entrance, sports facilities such as a park and tennis courts are on the left, while water reclamation facilities are on the right.

This is the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center in Seoul.

Spanning 393,000 square meters in Ilwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Daecheong Station on Subway Line 3 is located right next to it.

Mount Daemo is nearby and the Tancheon stream flows alongside, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has proposed this location as a housing supply site for young adults.

He stated that it is larger in area than the 300,000-square-meter Yongsan Children's Garden site, has convenient transportation, and offers better surrounding conditions such as the natural environment.

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: It becomes possible to secure from 10,000 to 13,000 homes (at Tancheon). This is presenting an alternative where we can create a truly desirable residential complex without touching parts of the Yongsan Park that should be passed down to future generations.]

He specifically argued that while relocating the water reclamation center and supplying housing at the site would take about 10 years, Yongsan could take up to 10 years just to break ground due to the relocation of the U.S. military base and the purification of contaminated soil.

Regarding Mayor Oh's proposal for an alternative site, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it has not reviewed the area and has no particular stance at this time.

During the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts meeting held today (August 25), the government and the Democratic Party reaffirmed their determination to supply housing on the Yongsan Children's Garden site.

[Heo Jong-sik / Member of the Democratic Party: (The Seoul city government) is making a fuss about building apartments on green spaces, which are the lungs of Seoul, and are you just going to stay still? It is right to build only on damaged areas, not on Yongsan's green spaces.]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Land Minister Kim Yoon-deok are scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting tomorrow (August 26). Key issues are expected to include the housing supply controversy over the Yongsan Children's Garden and the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center, as well as the issue of transferring the authority to approve redevelopment and reconstruction projects of 500 households or fewer to autonomous districts.

(Video Reporter: Kim Heung-ki, Video Editor: Yoon Tae-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.