"The Tyranny of Majority Rule" Daejang-dong Fallout from Public Redevelopment

Public-Led Project Backlash Grows
Press Conference Opposing Public Development by Heukseok 2 District Emergency Committee and Others

The Emergency Countermeasures Committee for Heukseok 2, Geumho 23, Sinseol 1, Gangbuk 5, and Hongjedong 3080 districts held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall on the morning of the 20th, urging the suspension of public development.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] The fallout from the Daejang-dong scandal is spilling over into one of the government's core housing supply measures, public redevelopment. There is growing concern that the Daejang-dong incident is fueling public resentment toward 'public'-led projects, potentially causing the loss of momentum for the initiative.

On the 20th, the ‘Emergency Countermeasure Committee Against Public Development of Heukseok 2 District’ in Dongjak-gu held a press conference opposing public redevelopment in front of Seoul City Hall's main building. The event was also attended by countermeasure committees from Kumho 23 District, Sinseol 1 District, Gangbuk 5 District, and Hongje-dong. They stated, "The public redevelopment pushed by Seoul City, SH Corporation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) will become a second Daejang-dong scandal," and argued, "Public redevelopment, which forcibly acquires citizens' property at low prices and enriches speculative forces under the name of public interest, must be stopped."

The committee holds the position that the public redevelopment project is a ‘tyranny of the majority.’ They find it hard to accept the method where only 10% of residents propose and select candidate sites, and claim that commercial property owners will suffer serious infringements on their property rights.

Choi Jo-hong, Vice Chairman of the Heukseok 2 District Countermeasure Committee, said, "Is the Republic of Korea a communist state that justifies violating private property rights based on proposals from only 10% of residents and forcibly pushes public redevelopment?" He added, "They completely ignore residents' opinions and, under the guise of public redevelopment?which is no different from an expropriation process?intend to confiscate property rights in a communist manner."

In particular, the committee defined public redevelopment as a ‘second Daejang-dong’ for speculative forces. They raised their voices, saying, "It was clearly proven in Daejang-dong. Now, are they trying to provoke a second Daejang-dong scandal right in the heart of Seoul, where 80% of the landowners' livelihoods and the workplaces of about 400 self-employed people are located?"

They plan to strongly resist until public redevelopment is withdrawn by linking with other districts opposing public redevelopment and conducting daily relay one-person protests, among other actions.