Seoul's 'Janggi Unexecuted Urban Parks' Designated as 'Urban Natural Park Zones'

Seoul City to Sequentially Lift Restrictions, Acquires 24.53㎢ of Land through Financial Investment
Plans to Maintain Parks by Establishing Management Measures for 69.22㎢ of Urban Natural Park Zones

Conceptual Diagram of Seoul City Urban Park Management Direction

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Ahead of the implementation of the 'Long-term Unexecuted Urban Park Expiration System' next month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has chosen to purchase some of the long-term unexecuted urban parks and re-designate some areas as park sites to prevent their park designation from being canceled.

On the 29th, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon held a briefing and announced, "We have designated 69.2㎢, which accounts for 58.4% of the long-term unexecuted urban parks in Seoul, as 'Urban Natural Park Zones' and have officially announced the decision on changes to the urban management plan as of today."

Accordingly, out of the total 118.5㎢ (132 sites) of long-term unexecuted urban parks in Seoul, 24.5㎢ (129 sites), including previously purchased park sites and those to be purchased in the future, will be maintained as parks under urban planning, and 69.2㎢ (68 sites) have been designated as 'Urban Natural Park Zones (use zones).' A portion of Bukhansan, which was previously managed under overlapping designations as a 'National Park' and an urban planning 'park' totaling 24.8㎢ (1 site), will now be managed solely by the Ministry of Environment as Bukhansan National Park.

The urban park expiration system is a system where if a privately owned land designated as an urban park under urban planning is not developed for 20 years, the designation loses its effect. It was introduced in 2000 following a 1999 Constitutional Court ruling that stated, "Designating privately owned land as urban planning facilities and not executing the plan for a long time infringes on the property rights of the landowner."

Since the city lacks the budget to purchase all the areas that will lose their park designation at once, it introduced the Urban Natural Park Zone system, which re-designates the areas losing park designation as park sites. Because development is also restricted in Urban Natural Park Zones, opposition from the landowners of these areas is inevitable.

The city is also continuing to purchase private land to preserve parks. Up to last year, it invested 2.9356 trillion won to purchase 6.93㎢ (84 parks), which is 2.4 times the size of Yeouido, and plans to invest 305 billion won by the end of this year to purchase an additional 0.51㎢ (79 parks). To avoid disruption to park use, private lands within Urban Natural Park Zones will be prioritized for purchase starting in 2021, focusing on main walking trails that connect parks.

The city will establish a 'Urban Natural Park Zone Management Plan,' which will include management directions and implementation strategies tailored to each zone's characteristics, introduction and management of facilities, and related institutional improvements. In particular, to facilitate smooth communication and consultation with landowners within the zones, financial investment plans related to land purchase requests and negotiated purchases will also be prepared.

The city has also been continuously requesting the central government to exclude national and public lands from the urban park expiration system, as urban parks are essential natural resources for the quality of life of future generations.

Mayor Park emphasized, "We have preserved a total of 118.5㎢ (132 sites) of urban parks that were about to disappear due to the implementation of the long-term unexecuted urban park expiration system," adding, "We will spare no effort to reduce even a single square foot of park green space or give up even an inch of park land, mobilizing bold financial investment and urban planning management measures."

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