Busan 'Deokcheon Park Development Project' Cultural Heritage Preservation Controversy... Ultimately to Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The development project of the ‘Gupo Waeseong Historical and Cultural Park (Deokcheon Neighborhood Park)’ in Deokcheon-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, which has been delayed due to controversies over cultural heritage preservation, is finally heading to court.

According to industry sources on the 26th, IPC Development, the developer of Deokcheon Park, filed a criminal complaint on the 18th against Shin Kyung-cheol, chairman of the Busan City Cultural Heritage Committee, at the Bukbu Police Station in Busan on charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of rights, coercion, threats, and obstruction of business.

View of the repair construction site at Gupo Waeseong.
[Photo by IPC Development]

The Deokcheon Neighborhood Park development project was promoted by Busan City to prevent indiscriminate development following the urban park sunset policy, which has been in effect since July 2020. The project, with a budget of 125.2 billion KRW, aimed to create 70,739㎡ of park facilities along with constructing six apartment buildings ranging from one basement floor to 15 floors above ground, totaling 230 households.

However, in October 2020, the Busan City Cultural Heritage Committee rejected the agenda, citing the possibility of damage to Gupo Waeseong, and the project was halted.

As a result, IPC Development reportedly suffered losses of about 4.3 billion KRW due to interest costs on the land purchase and various administrative expenses.

In response, IPC Development submitted the sixth review in November 2022, arguing the unfairness of the Cultural Heritage Committee’s decision. Busan City attempted to mediate by participating in an on-site investigation with cultural heritage committee members and officials to provide explanations, but the Cultural Heritage Committee blocked this, causing the effort to fail.

The Busan City Cultural Heritage Committee stated, "The terrain surrounding the Waeseong is also part of the fortress walls," and added, "The Cultural Heritage Committee is concerned about damage caused by development as the site is recognized as a historic relic."

IPC Development strongly opposes the cultural heritage review, finding it difficult to accept. A representative of IPC Development said, "Currently, Gupo Waeseong is increasingly damaged due to the expansion of religious facility zones, illegal parking lots, cultivated land, and encroachments, so urgent preservation is needed," and argued, "Ironically, the best way to properly preserve Gupo Waeseong as a cultural heritage site is to quickly develop Deokcheon Park, but the Cultural Heritage Committee is blocking this."

They continued, "If Busan City had decided on preservation from the start and not announced the project, we would not have participated," and appealed, "We raised 13.7 billion KRW in financing for the project, but no one is taking responsibility for the burdens caused by the project delay."

Busan City expressed a difficult position. A city park operations official explained, "We expected smooth development with the Cultural Heritage Committee’s approval, but the strong opposition from the committee has left us unable to proceed."

Meanwhile, the private park special case project is a system that allows private entities to develop part of the land in exchange for creating parks, considering that local governments lack the funds to purchase park sites. For parks larger than 50,000㎡, private developers purchase the park land, create at least 70% of it as a park, and donate it to the local government, while covering project costs through profitable developments (residential and commercial facilities, non-park facilities) on the remaining 30% or less of the land.

However, conflicts among residents, environmental groups, and landowners during the special case project have caused issues in several local governments such as Yongin, Icheon, Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province, and Changwon in Gyeongnam Province, continuing the controversy.