Youth Cultural Complex Planned for Former Seongdong Detention Center Site; Seoul Takes First Step Toward Private Investment Project

[Financial News] A multipurpose facility where young people can learn digital technology and experience cultural and artistic activities, content production and more will be built on the site of the former Seongdong Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The project will also include educational and experiential spaces for young people, as well as cultural facilities for local residents. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 19th that it had selected a consortium comprising Wibest Asset Management and three other companies as the preferred proposer in a private investment project bid to develop Site 4 in the special planning zone at the former Seongdong Detention Center.
The project site covers 4,250 square meters around 162 Garak-dong, Songpa-gu. Taking into account the large youth population in the surrounding area, the Seoul Metropolitan Government secured the site through public contribution and designated it for youth education and cultural facilities.
The selected consortium proposed a youth-focused facility where young people can engage in everything from digital technology education to cultural and leisure activities, content creation and hands-on experiences, all in one place. The key is to design the space so young people can explore their interests through a range of activities and plan their future careers. The proposal also includes an open cultural space that local residents can use.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been inviting private-sector proposals for the site since last July. The project uses a “public-private partnership project” model in which the public sector first identifies the site for development, and the private sector proposes how the facilities should be configured and operated.
The public-private partnership project is a private investment model introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2024. It is designed to encourage private-sector participation by disclosing in advance how public land could be used, and to assess both public benefits and commercial viability from the outset. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently pursuing development projects using this model at five sites.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to work with the preferred proposer to flesh out the facility configuration and operating plan. If the consortium submits a project plan that reflects the city’s policy direction, it will qualify as the initial proposer under the Act on Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure and then proceed through subsequent steps, including a suitability assessment.
Ahn Dae-hee, Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Director General for Future Spatial Planning, said, “A site-based competitive private investment project is a new model of public-private cooperation that uses the potential of city-owned land to provide everyday-life social infrastructure that residents can experience firsthand, more quickly. Through this bid, we will bring private-sector creativity to the former Seongdong Detention Center site to provide young people with a place to grow and take part in activities, and local residents with a cultural hub in their everyday lives.”
Meanwhile, the former Seongdong Detention Center relocated to the Munjeong Legal Complex in 2017, and phased mixed-use development combining residential, office and cultural functions is underway on the former prison site.

[email protected] Seong Chorong Reporter