Korean Air Labor and Management Followed by Songhyeondong Residents Opposing "Park Development"

Seoul City is promoting a plan to change the Korean Air site, currently an empty lot in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, into a 'cultural park' under urban planning facilities. On the 28th, the city announced that it submitted the 'Songhyeon-dong Korean Air Site Park Decision Plan' for consultation at the Urban and Architecture Joint Committee held on the 27th. The decision plan includes changing the site, currently designated as a special planning zone within the Bukchon district unit plan, into a cultural park. The photo shows the Korean Air site in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, which Korean Air is currently promoting for asset sale. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] As the Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing forward with plans to convert the land in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, owned by Korean Air, into a park, it has been reported that local residents of Songhyeon-dong have expressed opposition to the park conversion, following the Korean Air labor union. According to the aviation industry on the 19th, about 400 residents near the Songhyeon-dong site submitted a statement on the 17th opposing Seoul's plan to turn the site into a cultural park.

In their statement, the residents criticized Seoul's land acquisition policy, saying, "The procedure of acquiring private land as a park through a method called the district unit plan amendment and compensating based on the official land price lacks the principles of democracy and procedural legitimacy."

They also emphasized the utilization plan for the site, stating, "The Songhyeon-dong site should be preserved as it has historical and cultural value as well as economic value that can elevate it to a landmark of the capital city, Seoul," and added, "Constructing a national summit hall and an international exhibition center, and creating the Songhyeon Forest in other spaces would contribute to presenting a vision to future generations."

The Songhyeon-dong site, consisting of land (36,642㎡) and buildings (605㎡), is known as the last 'golden' land in Seoul, with an estimated minimum price of 500 billion to 600 billion KRW. Korean Air, which needs to secure financial soundness by raising capital worth 2 trillion KRW by the end of next year, had planned to sell this land through competitive bidding, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government's cultural park plan has disrupted these plans. It is reported that no one participated in the preliminary bidding held on the 10th.

In response, Korean Air filed a grievance complaint with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on the 11th, requesting the suspension of administrative procedures related to Seoul's cultural park plan. The Korean Air labor union also held a rally, stating, "Suddenly pushing for park conversion of the remaining land after more than 10 years during the end of the mayor's term blatantly reveals Mayor Park's political intentions," and urged, "The shackles on the Songhyeon-dong site should be removed so that it can be sold through competitive bidding according to free market economy principles at a reasonable price."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.