Protests against losing city parks held nationwide

Members of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements perform a skit in front of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul's Jongno District, June 1, as they protest against allowing development of lands designated as urban planning sites but unprepared as city parks. News1

By Ko Dong-hwan

With the country's first enactment to allow development from July 1 of lands designated as urban planning sites but which are left unprepared as city parks until this month, protests against permanently losing the lands have been held nationwide.

The protests ― held on June 1 in the cities of Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Andong, Suwon, Pohang, Seosan and Changwon ― the protests consisted of one-person placards, press conferences or street skits by protesters wearing costumes. Protesters included members of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM).

With the placards reading large “D-30” referring to when the law becomes effective, the protesters demanded local governments not delay designating the lands that will soon open to development as protective green land and buying the lands so they will not fall into the hands of private developers.

At a press conference in front of Sejong Center for the Performing Art in Seoul's Jongno District, about a dozen KFEM members said the law was “globally unprecedented” and demanded local government designate the lands as either protective green lands, scenic sites or reserved for city parks ― which does not cost the governments any money, according to the protesters.

Mt. Daemosan City Park in Seoul's Gangnam District is one of the city's 116 locations that face being divested of their urban planning site purpose. Korea Times file

The protesters also demanded that the 21st National Assembly, which opened on June 5, legalize the statute revision order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport from April 29, which “advised designating the pending lands without plans to become city parks by June 30 as protective green lands or scenic districts due to concerns of excessive development.”

“The newly voted lawmakers are full of promises that will develop all the green lands they can see,” KFEM's statement for the June 1 press conferences read. “While our citizens' needs for city parks have become clearer following the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers and policymakers go against such movement.”

If they cannot build more city parks, at least they must preserve what they still have by legalizing the land ministry's statue revision order, and also compensate private owners of lands designated for protective green land or city parks with tax cuts, the activists added.

There are now 4,421 locations of land registered as urban planning sites nationwide totaling 364 square meters overall that, unless they don't become city parks by June 30, will be divested of the purpose on July 1. In Seoul alone, 116 locations account for 91.798 square meters. Of the lands, 40 square meters are privately owned and, once they lose the urban planning site status on July 1, can be legally developed.

To prevent the development, local governments must buy the private lands but the cost, about 40 trillion won ($33.2 billion), are too much for the governments, according to experts.