Songpa District Council Chairman Yoon Young-han: "Let's Make the Lower Seongnaecheon 'the Second Seokchon Lake'!"

Yoon Young-han, Chair of the Administrative and Health Committee, Advocates Transforming the Lower Seongnaecheon into a Second Seokchon Lake in a 5-Minute Speech at the Songpa District Council Full Meeting on the 25th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] On the 25th, Yoon Young-han, Chair of the Administration and Health Committee of the Seoul Songpa District Council, received applause for proposing to "make the lower stream of Seongnaecheon a second Seokchon Lake."

Chairman Yoon began his five-minute speech at the Songpa District Council plenary session by saying, "Currently, our country is facing a truly unfortunate situation where the unprecedented COVID-19 virus has spread nationwide since last weekend. However, our people are a nation with the qualities to overcome this disaster and more. I believe this is a time when we need to offer much encouragement and support to those on the front lines of quarantine efforts while strictly following the guidelines for early termination of the epidemic."

He continued, "Today, I would like to propose developing the lower stream of Seongnaecheon into a lake park and utilizing it as a tourist resource, making it a second Seokchon Lake. According to a survey conducted as part of the four-year Songpa district plan after Mayor Park Seong-su’s inauguration, 45% of respondents selected Seongnaecheon, Tancheon, and Jangjicheon as places urgently needing development."

He added that among these, the lower stream of Seongnaecheon, which crosses Jamsil 4 and 6-dong and Pungnap 1 and 2-dong, was considered the most urgent area for development.

Chairman Yoon explained, "This area has high embankments, steep slopes, and various obstacles such as containers that greatly impair the urban landscape. The bridges serve only their function, and the waterways are only for flood control. The lower stream of Seongnaecheon, about 1 km long and 100 m wide, is similar in size to Seokchon Lake, covering an area of 100,000 square meters (30,000 pyeong). It has been left as an abandoned space that disconnects the living areas of Pungnap-dong and Jamsil-dong."

He also stated, "I have repeatedly discussed the necessity of developing the lower stream of Seongnaecheon into a second Seokchon Lake through meetings and site inspections with former Democratic Party regional chairman Jo Jae-hee and researchers from the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. If this area becomes a lake, the water levels of Mongchon Lake and Lake 88 within Olympic Park will naturally rise, creating a waterfront space with water as a backdrop, transforming it into a new world-class attraction."

He emphasized that, like in foreign cases, it would provide opportunities to enjoy leisure sports such as yachting in an urban stream, greatly contributing to the tourism industry.

Furthermore, he predicted that creating a moat connecting Mongchon Lake and Lake 88 would complete the magnificent image of Hanseong Baekje that transcends eras.

He acknowledged that there might be issues such as relocating the rainwater pumping station or changing the alignment of Olympic Road, but expressed confidence that developing the 30,000-pyeong waterfront space into a place naturally accessible to citizens and tourists would be a great achievement that further enhances the value of Songpa.

Therefore, he proposed that the executive branch actively consider including these ideas in the ecological park development project for the lower stream of Seongnaecheon, scheduled for April this year, to enable the area to be developed as a second Seokchon Lake.