[Anchor]

The government is pushing to supply youth public housing at the Yongsan Children's Garden in Seoul. Amid projections that up to 20,000 units could be built, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has expressed clear opposition, stating that the resources meant for future generations should not be depleted.

Reporter Park Yerim has the details.

[Reporter]

The 3 million-square-meter Yongsan Park site located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Formerly a U.S. military base, it is comparable in size to Yeouido in Seoul.

Among this area, the Yongsan Children's Garden—a 300,000-square-meter plot accounting for 10% of the total site to the left of the National Museum of Korea—was opened to the public starting in 2023.

The government is pushing forward with plans to supply youth public housing on this site.

Projections suggest that up to 20,000 units could be supplied if the floor area ratio is increased and designs focus primarily on small-sized units.

On August 14, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok stated, "Our resolve to overcome issues such as consultations with the U.S. military and the purification of contaminated soil to build homes is clear," mentioning not only the Children's Garden but also the entire Yongsan Park as potential candidates for housing supply.

Some analyze that because the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the opposition party oppose the development of Yongsan Park, the government is attempting to break through the opposition logic using the justification of "resolving youth housing instability."

A Cheong Wa Dae official also stated, "The government has conveyed its stance to the Seoul Metropolitan Government multiple times regarding the necessity of supplying housing on park sites."

Attending a Cabinet meeting today (August 18), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon wrote on social media that he expressed his opposition during the meeting, stating, "We must not deplete the share of future generations just because housing supply is needed immediately."

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: Putting apartments in Yongsan Park even by revising special laws cannot be a policy that a single administration can choose based on its immediate needs at any given moment.]

During the Cabinet meeting, President Lee Jae-myung asked Mayor Oh if there were any plans to ease regulations to increase private supply.

[Kang Yu-jung / Senior Presidential Spokesperson: (President Lee) checked in detail whether the authority for licensing and approvals regarding large-scale redevelopment and reconstruction maintenance projects as well as small-scale individual construction lies with the district office or the city government....]

When Mayor Oh responded that it would include easing floor area ratio regulations and lowering the mandatory rental housing ratio, President Lee stated, "While we want to increase supply, we must not elevate the possibility of causing housing prices to skyrocket," according to Cheong Wa Dae.

(Camera Reporter: Jung Sang-bo, Ha Ryung | Video Editing: Nam Il | Design: Han Heung-su, Kim Yeji)