Debate Over Taereung Country Club Development... "Double Standards in Government Real Estate Policy"

Byungmin Kim, Seoul Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, Voices Criticism on Social Media
"Taereung Country Club Development Overturns Principle of Cultural Heritage Protection"

Byungmin Kim, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, condemned the government's plan to develop Taereung Country Club, criticizing it as an act that disregards the principle of protecting cultural heritage.

On February 1, Deputy Mayor Kim stated on his Facebook page, "Since the August 4, 2020 policy, Taereung Country Club was selected as a pilot area for the World Heritage Impact Assessment and has already undergone domestic review by the National Heritage Administration. As a result of the 2024 review, the permitted development height was restricted to below the tree line, and accordingly, the construction scale was limited to no more than 5,000 units, effectively bringing the project to a halt."

Members of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the People Power Party visited Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul last December regarding the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Preservation, Management, and Utilization of World Heritage Sites ("World Heritage Act"). They are listening to an explanation from Kim Byungmin, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul (right). Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Deputy Mayor Kim said, "The government's recent announcement regarding the development of Taereung Country Club nullifies all of these processes. It is no different from overturning the principle of cultural heritage protection and declaring that the President's words alone can override the previous review results of the National Heritage Administration."

What Deputy Mayor Kim highlighted was the fairness in applying the World Heritage Impact Assessment criteria. He argued, "If the key standard of the World Heritage Impact Assessment is whether the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is damaged, it is even harder to understand. In the Sewoon District adjacent to Jongmyo Shrine, the principle of keeping development below the tree line is applied as an absolute standard, but for Taereung Country Club, where the project was already halted under the same criteria, the government is now willing to make an exception. This is a clear double standard."

Deputy Mayor Kim called on Wonoh Jeong, Mayor of Seongdong District, to clarify his position. He said, "Mayor Wonoh Jeong is ignoring key details, causing discussions about housing supply to go in circles. This is precisely what the current Democratic Party government's housing policy looks like. When faced with real estate policies where the will of the citizens and the will of the President are in conflict, Mayor Jeong must clearly state whether he prioritizes the citizens or the President."

Earlier that day, Mayor Jeong stated on his own Facebook page, "Development near a World Cultural Heritage site should undergo a World Heritage Impact Assessment, and the project should be adjusted accordingly. The principle is the same for both Sewoon District 4 in front of Jongmyo Shrine and Taereung Country Club. The project should proceed by agreeing on height and density that meet international standards following the assessment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.