Won Hee-ryong "Concerns about Yongsan Park pollution exaggerated... No safety issues at all"

On the 10th, when the Yongsan Park site near the presidential office was opened to the general public on a trial basis, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong and citizens took commemorative photos at Seoul Yongsan Park.

Regarding concerns about soil contamination in the open area of Yongsan Park in Seoul, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong dismissed them as "exaggerated claims."

At the Yongsan Park pilot opening event near the presidential office on the 10th, Minister Won said, "It is an exaggeration to say that this space where the US military and their children used to play is dangerous or that hazardous substances are accumulated beneath our feet." He added, "If there are any risks or parts that have not been transparently verified, the government will approach them thoroughly and cautiously."

Minister Won stated, "The currently opened park area and movement routes pose no risk at all," and urged, "I hope people will not confuse or intentionally exaggerate the risk-related aspects out of excessive concern."

Regarding the decision to limit visitors' viewing time to two hours during the pilot opening period, he emphasized again, "Limiting one team per two hours and organizing entry teams is not because of danger, but because rotating five times a day is the maximum capacity," adding, "There are absolutely no safety issues."

In response to concerns that the pilot opening of Yongsan Park, conducted under the premise of safety, might disadvantage negotiations for cleanup cost claims with the US Forces Korea in the future, he explained, "This is a partial opening, not a full opening," and "Since the opening is limited in scope, it is a different matter from negotiating cleanup costs with the US military after a full opening." He added, "Cleanup costs will be claimed based on joint investigations by the US military and the Ministry of Environment and objective data."

Yongsan Park was opened to the general public on a ten-day schedule starting from this day until the 19th.

The pilot opening covers a straight-line distance of about 1.1 km from the south side of the presidential office to the north side sports field of the National Museum of Korea, corresponding to about 100,000㎡, or approximately 16% of the Yongsan base land (634,000㎡) returned by the US Forces Korea so far.

Park entrances are set up at two locations: near the US military general's residence entrance by the Shinyongsan Station exit and the north entrance of the National Museum of Korea.

The pilot opening hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, the first entry is scheduled for 11 a.m. on the 10th, and the last entry is at 1 p.m. on the 19th (with exit by 3 p.m.).

There will be five sessions daily at two-hour intervals, with 500 visitors each time, totaling 2,500 visitors per day and 25,000 visitors over ten days.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also explained regarding the Yongsan Park contamination controversy, "Considering the past temporary opening case of Busan Citizens Park (Camp Hayaria), daily opening hours (10 hours), number of entry sessions (5 times), capacity of convenience facilities, and average park usage, the average usage time per session was planned as two hours," adding, "The two-hour usage time is not a criterion for judging human health risks related to the soil contamination controversy at Yongsan Park."

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