Seoul City: "Sufficient Publicness of Covered Park, Will Consult with Hangang Cheong on Construction Process"

Hangangcheong Notifies Facility Installation Denial Citing 'Public Interest'
Seoul City "Confusion Among Residents and Association Damage Expected Due to Hangangcheong's Position Reversal"
"We Will Do Our Best to Ensure No Disruption to Maintenance Project"

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will do its best to consult with the Han River Basin Environmental Office during the approval and construction processes of Han River-linked facilities, such as the cover park being promoted in redevelopment projects in Banpo and Apgujeong. Despite sufficient discussions on public interest, it expressed concerns about resident confusion and cooperative association damages due to the Han River Basin Environmental Office's notification of disapproval for the installation of the cover park.

Aerial view of Banpo Covered Park. Provided by Seoul City.

On the 23rd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "Han River-linked facilities like the Banpo cover park possess sufficient public interest." This was in response to the Han River Basin Environmental Office's notification of disapproval regarding the cover park planned for the Banpo Jugong 1, 2, and 4 district reconstruction redevelopment project.

Since 2017, Seoul City and Seocho District have been promoting the redevelopment project in consultation with the Han River Basin Environmental Office (formerly the Seoul Regional Land Management Office). In July, the Han River Basin Environmental Office notified Seocho District that the installation of the cover park facility would not be allowed, citing the reason that "the primary beneficiaries of the facility are residents of private apartment complexes, so it is difficult to consider it as having public interest."

Subsequently, during consultations in October and November when Seoul City visited the Han River Basin Environmental Office, the office expressed that "whether the facility installation is permitted can be reviewed and judged once the detailed design plan is submitted, considering securing public interest, minimizing obstruction to water flow, and minimizing impact on embankment structures due to construction." However, on the 26th of last month, the Han River Basin Environmental Office stated that even if the facility is accessible to the general public, the main beneficiaries would be residents of private apartment complexes, making it difficult to regard it as having public interest, and thus disallowed the installation.

The city mentioned the necessity of installing the cover park facility to the Han River Basin Environmental Office and requested active cooperation. The city cited the following grounds: △ the cover park is a necessary facility to enhance public convenience for Seoul citizens and strengthen Seoul's urban competitiveness △ sudden reversal of the Han River Basin Environmental Office's position is expected to cause resident confusion and severe damage to the cooperative association △ the legal committee, the Urban Planning Committee, had multiple reviews regarding public interest.

According to Seoul City, the Banpo cover park is a facility that strengthens connectivity to allow all citizens easy access to the Han River. It was also discussed in the Urban Planning Committee review during the redevelopment plan establishment process in 2017. At that time, the city’s Urban Planning Committee required securing public interest by creating a Han River viewing spot at the end of the cover park, placing it at the center of the Banpo living area to increase user utilization, and improving pedestrian accessibility to the Han River Park. Subsequently, a redevelopment plan reflecting these points was established, and the winning design of the competition selected in June included these elements.

Aerial view of Banpo Covered Park upper area. Provided by Seoul City

The Banpo cover park completed its design competition in June and is currently undergoing basic design after contracting with the designer in December. The city plans to actively accept the Han River Basin Environmental Office’s opinions on technical matters such as minimizing the loss of cross-sectional flow area to ensure embankment structural safety and prevent obstruction to water flow during the detailed design process.

The city pointed out that the ‘Han River (Paldang Dam to estuary) Basic River Plan’ established by the Han River Basin Environmental Office (formerly Seoul Regional Land Management Office) in 2020 also specifies the creation of parks above roads as a measure to enhance connectivity between the Han River and the city. The Banpo cover park plan aligns with the river basic plan proposed by the Han River Basin Environmental Office.

In an official letter sent to the Han River Basin Environmental Office on the 19th, the city explained, "Since 2017, the opinion was to consult after preparing detailed design documents, but the sudden change to disapproval causes resident confusion and damage to the Banpo Jugong 1, 2, and 4 district cooperative association (approximately 11 billion KRW in design costs, 170 billion KRW in financial costs due to project delays), and raises concerns about delays in Han River development."

Banpo Covered Park Example

The city explained, "This is a matter that the city’s Urban Planning Committee has discussed and supplemented multiple times regarding public interest, so there is no concern about lack of public interest as the Environmental Office worries. Technical matters such as minimizing obstruction to water flow will reflect the Environmental Office’s opinions as much as possible."

Han Byung-yong, Director of Housing at Seoul City, said, "Since the public interest of Han River-linked facilities such as the cover park has been sufficiently discussed by the city’s Urban Planning Committee, it is very regrettable that controversy arises now. As these facilities are designed to help citizens feel closer to the Han River, we will continue to communicate with the Han River Basin Environmental Office and actively cooperate on necessary matters for smooth project promotion."