'JYP HQ designer' Hyunjoon Yoo says, "How is this different from putting housing in Yongsan Park?"; Seoul rebuts criticism

[Financial News] Architect Hyunjoon Yoo, a Hongik University professor and head of Hyunjoon Yoo + PARTNERS, criticized the planned conversion of park-designated land in front of JYP Entertainment's new headquarters site in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, prompting the Seoul Metropolitan Government to issue a rebuttal.

In 2023, JYP Entertainment purchased 10,675 square meters of distribution and sales facility land in the Godeok-dong area for approximately 75.5 billion won to build its new headquarters.
The park-designated land located 20 meters from the planned site of the new headquarters was later changed to self-sufficient support facility land, also known as self-sufficient facility land. Such land is intended to attract corporate, business and research facilities to secure local jobs and establish a foundation for economic activity. As a result, high-rise buildings can later be constructed on the site.
In a YouTube video last month, Yoo criticized the change involving park land in the Godeok-Gangil District, saying, "They (SH) changed the park into commercial-use land to raise the money they needed immediately" and "There is no difference between this and eliminating Yongsan Park and putting housing there."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an explanatory statement on the 1st, saying, "The September 4, 2023 land sale notice issued by Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) for the land containing the JYP headquarters site stated that the land-use plans for surrounding land could change, and the site was changed to self-sufficient facility land on October 24, 2025."
It added, "Construction approval for JYP's new headquarters was granted six months later, on April 15, 2026." In other words, JYP Entertainment obtained construction approval despite knowing that the park land in front of its new headquarters site had been rezoned.
The city further explained, "Considering that construction approval was pursued six months after the park land was changed to self-sufficient facility land with approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), it is inappropriate to claim that the landowner (JYP Entertainment) was blindsided by SH. The Seoul Metropolitan Government continues to make efforts to support the construction of JYP's new headquarters."
Above all, the Seoul Metropolitan Government maintains that the two developments have entirely different legal bases, public-interest characteristics, project purposes and legal statuses assigned to the park, making them impossible to compare under the same criteria.
It explained, "Under the Special Act on Securing School Sites, etc., the Godeok-Gangil District is required to fulfill its obligation to install school facilities for the benefit of future generations. As a means of securing the funds for that purpose, the law allows parks and green spaces to be reduced by up to 1% of the development project area. Accordingly, SH, the project operator, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport coordinated the park land through consultations."
The city added, "The Godeok-Gangil District made a limited change to its district plan while already meeting 140% of the mandatory park and green-space standard."
According to the city, parks and green spaces in Godeok-Gangil cover 471,450 square meters, or 28.4% of the total development area. This exceeds the legal standard for parks and green spaces—20%, or 331,862 square meters.
[email protected] An Ga-eul Reporter