Jeong Won-oh: "Yongsan UN AI Hub"... Oh Se-hoon: "A 10,000-unit chicken coop apartment district"

\r\n
\r\n[The Financial News] Jeong Won-oh, the DPK candidate for Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, said on the 8th that he plans to attract a United Nations (UN) AI Hub to the Yongsan International Business District (YIBD). In response, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, criticized Jeong's pledge to supply 10,000 homes in Yongsan, saying it would "turn the area into a chicken coop apartment district."
Jeong visited the YIBD site that day and announced a plan to develop it into a hub for five key industries: the UN AI Hub, robotics, biotechnology, the defense industry, and digital finance.
First, the UN AI Hub is already being pursued by the government, which has signed letters of intent for cooperation with major UN agencies. Jeong's pledge is to bring it to Yongsan in consultation with the Lee Jae-myung administration. He also set a goal of drawing global companies in the five industries, led by AI, to Yongsan. Specifically, he said he would work with the government to designate the area as a Small and Medium Enterprise Research and Development Special Zone, allowing corporate tax cuts and visa and regulatory exemptions, while also attracting global venture capital firms to encourage investment. Based on that, he also plans to seek designation as an AI-focused Free Economic Zone.
Under his development plan, the land would be leased for 99 years, while only development rights would be sold to raise more than 100 billion won in funding. He said the plan would also target long-term lease income and rising land values. He also proposed a model in which the land would be contributed in kind to form Yongsan REITs, allowing citizens to invest and share in the profits. To support this, he plans to establish the Seoul Investment Corporation and position it as the control tower for Yongsan development.
Oh pointed out that Jeong had promised to supply 10,000 homes before unveiling his Yongsan development plan that day. The controversy grew after Jeong raised the government's proposed target of 6,000 homes to 10,000. When asked by reporters that day, Jeong also said, "Whether it is 10,000 or 8,000 homes is something that needs to be adjusted."
On the same day, Oh wrote on social network service (SNS), "The Yongsan International Business District is one of the few remaining growth engines in Seoul, where future industries and the quality jobs sought by younger generations are at stake. It is a strategic hub that will serve as the face of Seoul, bringing together housing, businesses, green space, and culture and the arts." He added, "Jeong, who wants to reduce such a Seoul to a chicken coop apartment district and an overcrowded bedroom town, is shattering Seoul's future."
Regarding the disputed housing supply scale, he said, "The optimal housing supply volume that we initially discussed in depth with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was 6,000 units, and the 8,000-unit figure was the upper limit after much deliberation and consultation. There is naturally no 'how' for Jeong, who suddenly added 2,000 more units on top of that. Where will schools and parks be built, and how can traffic from private cars, public transportation demand, and parking demand be handled? If infrastructure plans such as water and sewage facilities are redrawn from scratch, it will take two years." He then fired back, "Withdraw the 10,000-unit plan immediately. And apologize to Yongsan residents."
\r\n
uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter