Seongsoo Park, Mayor of Songpa District, "Plan Change of Former Seongdong Detention Center Violates Trust"

Mayor Park Meets Residents at Old Seongdong Detention Center Demolition Site, Discusses... "I Understand Seoul City Is Also Considering Some Adjustments"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, emphasized on the 13th regarding the development of the former Seongdong Detention Center site promoted by Seoul City, “For the past 40 years, residents nearby have endured inconvenience and damage due to the Seongdong Detention Center, a facility to be avoided. Changing the plan now because the situation has changed violates trust.”

Mayor Park met with residents at the demolition site of the former Seongdong Detention Center that morning and stated, “Songpa District’s position is that Seoul City should naturally develop the site according to the original plan, which reflects the residents’ opinions.”

The meeting was arranged to directly hear residents’ opinions at the project implementation site. About 20 people attended, including representatives of residents from Garak, Munjeong, and Ogeum Residents’ Rights Committees, residents of Garak 2-dong, officials from Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), and Songpa District Office officials.

According to Songpa District, the development project of the former Seongdong Detention Center site focuses on housing supply and the creation of complex public facilities utilizing public contribution land.

Specifically, the land for housing is planned to build a Newlywed Hope Town (700 units) and apartment complexes (600 units), and the public contribution land is planned for land use including ▲resident communication hub facilities ▲cultural and sports complex facilities ▲youth education and cultural complex facilities.

However, recently, as Seoul City is reportedly reconsidering some plans such as expanding public sales, residents’ opposition continues.

The residents who met with Mayor Park raised their voices, saying, “The development of the Seongdong Detention Center site should maintain the original plan,” “The mayor has changed, apartment prices have risen, and they intend to supply apartments on the remaining land at a low price. We understand the intention, but from our perspective, it is no different from overturning the agreement made over the past 7 to 8 years,” and “If the original plan is not implemented, an empty lot would be better.”

In response, Mayor Park Seong-su said, “I understand that Seoul City is making some adjustments regarding the Seongdong Detention Center development plan, and I am also well aware that this causes great concern among residents,” adding, “The district office is continuously and diversely striving to ensure the original plan is maintained and is responding with various measures.”

When some residents suggested, “Let’s file an administrative lawsuit like Gangnam District,” Mayor Park explained the differences between Songpa District and Gangnam District and said, “I am a legal professional, so if there were practical benefits to be gained through legal litigation, I would not hesitate,” but added, “At this point, going through legal litigation would only delay the project timeline without any practical benefit.”

However, he emphasized, “If there are legal issues in the procedures in the future, we will actively respond.”

Mayor Park also stressed, “If Seoul City intends to change policies on matters involving residents’ interests, we are actively working to ensure sufficient resident briefings are held,” adding, “This is also important to secure the democratic nature of administrative procedures.”

The development project of the former Seongdong Detention Center plans to complete the demolition of the main detention center building by the end of the year and carry out infrastructure construction such as roads by the second half of next year.

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