[The Editors' Verdict] The Tragedies Born from Lee Jaemyung's 'Seongnam Legacy'

26 Baekhyeon-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si. It is roughly at the lowest edge of Pangyo New Town. Crossing the main road and walking toward Uiwang-si, you encounter a side road leading to Namseoul CC. Crossing the golf course and climbing a low hill, you reach Gogi-dong, Yongin-si. It is about 5 km, a distance easily reachable on foot in about an hour.

The reason for mentioning this short path is that it houses three legacies left by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during his time as mayor of Seongnam. The recently built DoubleTree Hilton Hotel at 26 Baekhyeon-ro, the 'Pangyo The Sharp First Park' apartments in Baekhyeon-dong, and the 'Pangyo Daejang District.' The Pangyo Daejang District and Baekhyeon-dong apartments were the first places to become the pretext for a parliamentary vote on the arrest consent bill against an opposition party leader in the history of the National Assembly.

The disputes surrounding Lee are matters to be settled in court, so let’s set them aside. However, facing these three legacies, one thought inevitably arises: "Why here of all places...?"

The location of the hotel is puzzling. The Gyeongbu Expressway runs right in front, and the surroundings are barren fields. It is a remote area without even bus routes connecting to the surroundings. The Baekhyeon-dong apartments are also a solitary complex surrounded by forest. Following the road in front of the complex leads to Namseoul CC, and beyond the golf course, the road is blocked by a private luxury residential area. The Pangyo Daejang District is also an island-like location. To get to Pangyo, you must pass through a tunnel, and on the way to Bundang New Town, there is a fairly large reservoir called Nakseong Reservoir.

Where does this incongruity come from? It is due to an irrational urban planning change that is hard to understand even without being an expert. The 26 Baekhyeon-ro area, which was a green zone, was overnight changed to a commercial zone, and the Baekhyeon-dong site, also a green zone, was transformed into a quasi-residential zone. It is unthinkable to have commercial and quasi-residential zones in the middle of a green zone. This is reckless development that disregards the basic principle of setting land use considering harmony with the surroundings.

Lee claims that he recovered development profits and brought enormous benefits to the public. But the essence is not there. If there had been no irrational zoning changes, there would have been no room for controversy over development profit recovery, nor reasons to cause reckless urban development.

In general urban planning, even a single step of zoning upgrade is not easy. Let alone a 4 to 5-step upgrade from a green zone to quasi-residential or commercial zones. It is impossible without a cataclysmic change.

Unfortunate events have been occurring during the investigation process involving Lee and those around him. Individuals who were directly or indirectly involved in the irrational permit process are playing a game of truth. And the law clearly defines the final decision-maker: the head of the relevant local government.

Regardless of whether there was a price paid or how much profit was recovered, Lee’s legacies themselves are not free from the controversy of ‘special favors.’ His legacies indicate that he was an administrator at odds with common sense. That irrationality is closer to destruction than creation.