Oh Se-hoon Meets Kim Yun-duk: "We Could Not Reach a Conclusion on Yongsan Park, but We Proposed an Alternative Tancheon Site"

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on the 26th that he and Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, did not reach a conclusion on housing supply within Yongsan Park, but narrowed their differences.
After the meeting with Kim ended on the 26th, Oh held a briefing at Seoul Metropolitan Government and said, "We still did not reach a conclusion today," but added, "The encouraging part is that I felt our views had narrowed in several areas."
Oh added, "We have agreed to meet Minister Kim again in about a week, and by then I am hopeful that several pending issues can be settled all at once."
Oh reportedly reiterated his opposition to Yongsan Park during the meeting. Instead, he formally proposed developing the Seoul Tancheon Water Reclamation Center site, which Seoul Metropolitan Government had suggested as an alternative location.
Oh stressed, "I once again strongly explained that Yongsan Park must be protected at all costs," and added, "I told them that Seoul cannot make any concessions at all."
He continued, "I was told that they would review the Tancheon site plan," and said, "For my part, I hope the proposal for Yongsan Park is withdrawn and that the Southeast Youth Complex Industrial Complex is adopted as the alternative so discussions can move forward."
The meeting also reportedly covered a plan to ease the floor-area ratio for redevelopment projects by up to 1.2 times.
Oh said, "There was a request to ease the floor-area ratio for redevelopment projects by up to 1.2 times, and MOLIT agreed to review that quantitatively," adding, "It is very positive that the government is taking a forward-looking approach."
According to the city, if the floor-area ratio for redevelopment projects is raised to 1.2 times, the net increase in housing supply is expected to reach 130,000 units, up from the existing 87,000 units by 43,000 units.
Oh said, "That is more than the total from both Yongsan Park and the Tancheon site," and argued, "Although there is a condition that the share of rental housing must be secured, which means the number of units for sale will not increase, it is clear that the volume of new supply will rise dramatically."
He also said, "Among the ongoing negotiations between Seoul Metropolitan Government and MOLIT, this is highly likely to be the most effective measure and the one most likely to be recorded as a construction volume that can lead to visible results during this administration."
Oh added, "There are also several other items I requested. I think a forward-looking review of those could be possible as well," and said, "If that happens, I expect the various issues we discussed together can move forward in a package."

[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter