Petition Opposing Housing Supply at Yongsan Park Surpasses 50,000 Signatures... Will It Reach the National Assembly?

[Financial News] A public petition opposing housing supply plans using the Yongsan Park site and related legal revisions has surpassed 50,000 supporters. As the petition has met the required threshold, it is expected to be formally referred to the relevant Standing Committee of the National Assembly.
According to the Electronic Petition System of the National Assembly on the 1st, the petition titled "Petition Calling for Opposition to the Revision of the Special Act on the Creation of Yongsan Park and a Halt to Housing Supply Plans on the Yongsan Park Site" had 50,031 supporters as of 8:40 a.m. that day. If a public petition receives at least 50,000 signatures within 30 days of being made public, it is reviewed by the relevant Standing Committee.
The controversial amendment to the Special Act on the Creation of Yongsan Park includes easing park and green-space standards to allow high-density mixed-use development on returned sites such as Camp Kim.
The petitioner argued that although the government said the revision would be limited to the Camp Kim site, changing the legal standards could expand the scope of development to other Yongsan Park sites. The petitioner also expressed concern that the entire Yongsan Park area could be developed in stages, noting that the area around Yongsan Children's Garden, which opened three years ago, was also reviewed as a candidate site for 3,000 to 4,000 housing units.
Yongsan Park began being mentioned as a possible housing supply site during the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's preparations for the Aug. 13 housing supply plan. As the government considered Yongsan Park as a potential supply site, local opposition continued even before the policy was announced.
Because consultations between MOLIT and the Seoul Metropolitan Government were not completed, the Yongsan Park supply plan was excluded from the Aug. 13 measures. Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, and Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, later met twice but failed to reach an agreement. MOLIT and the Seoul Metropolitan Government plan to continue related talks this month.
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter