Gangnam District head Shin Yeon-hee Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon



District office wants independence amid feud with Seoul City



By Chung Ah-young



The Gangnam District Office in southern Seoul has demanded that Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) grant it autonomy in a protest against the latter's development plan.



Shin Yeon-hee, head of the Gangnam district office, released an open statement Tuesday, calling for Mayor Park Won-soon to respond to two major issues: Why the city excludes the district in talks to develop a property purchased by Hyundai Motor Group in its district; and, concerning this, separating the district from the city by proposing the local government designate Gangnam a special self-governing district.



Shin's strong action comes amid the year-long feud between the SMG and the district office over the development project in Gangnam.



In September last year, Hyundai Motor Group purchased a 79,342-square-meter tract of land from Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) for 10.55 trillion won ($9.05 billion) to construct a 105-story headquarters building and other facilities.



The conglomerate offered to pay 1.7 trillion won to the city as a public contribution fee if the city eases regulations for the land use. Such a fee is usually spent for public facilities for the region.



The district office claims it deserves to use the fee solely for its residents because they will have to go through the inconvenience of construction and also because the site is located inside the district.



However, the SMG plans to spend the fee on developing areas near the land and around Jamsil Sports Complex which is located in Songpa, a neighboring district.

In the statement, Shin strongly denounced the city for its "high-handed decision."



"Although the SMG has the authority to approve the construction permit, it cannot exclude the district office and its residents in discussions on this high-profile development project crucial for the district and the city alike, and ignoring the autonomy of the district, which is guaranteed by the Constitution," she said.



However, the SMG said that the district maliciously distributed distorted press releases against the city's policy and filed a suit against innocent SMG officials. In April, Shin and 25 Gangnam residents abruptly visited City Hall without prior notice to protest.



"We cannot negotiate with the district if it doesn't change its attitude," an SMG official said.



Besides the Hyundai site, the two sides clashed over how to develop Guryong Village in Gangnam, the last remaining urban slum in Seoul.



A development plan was initiated by former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon but Park attempted to revise it. He then reverted to the original plan after facing fierce protests from the district office.



The two are in another dispute over SMG's plan to build a second Citizens' Hall inside the Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention Center (SETEC) located in Gangnam. The district office has opposed the plan, saying the area should be developed into a global cultural complex where performances, exhibitions and seminars can be held.