Seoul City Launches Park Conversion of Sampyo Factory, the 'Last Puzzle' of Seoul Forest

Seoul City to Conduct Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Next Month
Assessing Appropriateness Ahead of Full-Scale Planning
Expected to Complete as Waterfront Culture Park in 2024
However, Variables Arise as Sampyo Fails to Find Alternative Site

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is accelerating the park development project on the site of the Sampyo Remicon factory in Seongsu-dong. The park development of the Sampyo Remicon site is one of the core plans of the 610,000㎡ scale 'Seoul Forest' project, a large-scale park project in the eastern part of Seoul. The city plans to complete the relocation and demolition of the existing factory by June 2022 and finish creating the waterfront cultural space by 2024.

According to Seoul City on the 27th, the city plans to conduct a strategic environmental impact assessment next month for the park development of the Sampyo Remicon factory site, which spans 27,828㎡ in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu. The strategic environmental impact assessment is a procedure to review the appropriateness of the plan, the feasibility of the location, and harmony with the surrounding environment before establishing and implementing the full-scale development plan.

The city intends to transform the Sampyo Remicon factory site into a waterfront cultural park and develop the nearby equestrian center and water purification plant sites together, expanding Seoul Forest from its current 430,000㎡ to 610,000㎡. Although the city had this plan since the Seoul Forest creation plan in 2004, the site was excluded from the plan when Hyundai Motor Group proposed building a 100-story new headquarters on the Sampyo Remicon factory site.

In 2017, Seoul City signed an agreement with Sampyo Industry and Hyundai Steel, the site owner, to relocate and demolish the Sampyo Remicon factory by June 30, 2022.

The relocation and demolition of the Sampyo Remicon factory is also the biggest long-standing issue in the Seongsu-dong area. The factory, which began operations in 1977 and led Seoul's development era, is adjacent to the waterfront park where the Jungnangcheon Stream meets. However, due to noise, traffic congestion, and increasing resident complaints about fine dust, there have been continuous demands from residents for the site’s relocation. The site was considered for the Seoul New City Hall relocation in 1998 but was not pursued, and in 2010, Hyundai Motor Group’s Global Business Center (GBC) construction was proposed but failed due to opposition from Seoul City.

The market value of the Sampyo Remicon factory site is estimated to be between 400 billion and 500 billion KRW. The city is promoting the acquisition of the site from Hyundai Steel through a land swap method. Land swap is a method of paying for land acquisition costs with other land instead of cash. It is known that the city plans to transfer half of the approximately 20,000㎡ Seoul Forest park parking lot it owns to Hyundai Steel. Since a land swap is not feasible at current value, the city is likely to rezone this site to a semi-residential area. A Seoul city official said, "It is a 1:1 equivalent exchange of the factory site and part of the parking lot," adding, "If rezoned to semi-residential, apartments and office facilities can be built."

However, a variable remains as Sampyo Group has not yet secured an alternative site for the factory. Workers belonging to the factory have formed an emergency countermeasure committee and reportedly cannot accept the city’s initiation of administrative procedures while the alternative site issue remains unresolved. A Seoul city official said, "Three years after the agreement, with relocation and demolition just over two years away, preliminary work has begun," adding, "The park development of the factory site is also a promise to citizens, so we will continue to push forward."