Oh Se-hoon's Erasure of Park Won-soon... The De Facto Abandonment of Leaving Traces for 'Cultural Preservation'

Old Seongdong Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul (Photo by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] The "Leaving Traces" project, initiated by the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to preserve modern culture, is effectively being abandoned. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is considering demolishing aging buildings targeted for preservation within the Gangnam reconstruction area and the former Seongdong Detention Center, following intense opposition from residents. It is being evaluated that Mayor Oh Se-hoon, now six months into his term, is accelerating the erasure of Park’s legacy in urban regeneration.

According to the urban maintenance industry on the 6th, Seoul plans to revise the plan to preserve some facilities of the former Seongdong Detention Center in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu, and will proceed with a re-notification for public review of the district unit plan. Originally, the city intended to preserve the historical value of the modern correctional facility by leaving the detention center’s walls, some buildings, and watchtowers intact after redevelopment. This was part of Park’s "Leaving Traces" policy, but residents strongly criticized it as "trying to keep an eyesore correctional facility." With repeated requests for reconsideration from the Songpa District Office, which has jurisdiction, the city appears to be moving forward with changing the plan.

Earlier, the city also announced it would reconsider the "Leaving Traces" project to preserve some buildings in the Gangnam area’s reconstruction apartments. Park had planned to preserve parts of Banpo Jugong Complex 1, Jamsil Complex 5, and Gaepo Jugong Complexes 1 and 4 after reconstruction to maintain the lifestyle of early Jugong apartments. However, due to ongoing resident opposition considering the negative impact on the urban landscape, the city is reportedly preparing a revised maintenance plan through resident meetings. The city has already withdrawn plans to preserve buildings in the red-light district within Cheongnyangni 4 District, which had sparked fierce opposition.

Accordingly, most of Park’s "Leaving Traces" projects are expected to be scrapped during Mayor Oh’s term. During his candidacy in April, Oh promised to abolish the project, questioning, "Who is this ‘Leaving Traces’ really for, given the strong resident opposition?" At that time, Oh stated a basic policy that, considering urban efficiency and landscape, it would be better to replace "Leaving Traces" with facilities such as daycare centers or libraries.

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