PLAN TO DEVELOP EX-YONGSAN RAIL YARD

[Anchor Lead]

The development of an empty former rail yard in Yongsan-gu District is to be resumed after nine years. It is known as the last patch of land in Seoul available for development. The area will be exempt from regulations to build high-rises of over 100 floors and a business hub where people will be able to live, work and enjoy culture.

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The site of the former rail yard in Yongsan is twice as large as Yeouido Park. Currently this vast plot of land is occupied only by trees and grass. Its development was suspended due to various factors including a financial crisis and it's been abandoned for nearly a decade now. Two years from now the area will be developed into an international business zone. About 40 percent of the plot will be used for basic infrastructure such as roads and parks. The remaining land will be home to high-tech businesses, R&D centers and international organizations. About 30 percent of the international business district will be used for residential purposes. But apartments for only six thousand households will be built instead of the previously planned ten thousand. The area will be the first in Seoul to be designated as a minimal regulation zone. It will be home to skyscrapers with a legal floor area ratio of over 1,500 percent.

[Soundbite] Oh Se-hoon(Seoul Mayor) : "Our plans to create a competitive urban hub by making the best use of an old area will finally be realized in Yongsan."

This time around the project will be carried out jointly by the public and private sectors, as the private sector had already failed once when overseeing it alone. SH Corporation and KORAIL will invest 5 trillion won to prepare land and build infrastructure. The private sector will carry out its part on allocated sections. The project will cost a total of 12 trillion won. The development plan is to be devised by the first half of 2023. Construction of basic facilities will begin in 2024. Expectations over Yongsan's upcoming transformation have sparked concerns over skyrocketing real estate prices in the district and massive development profits.

[Soundbite] Kim Sung-dal(Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice) : "The public sector should not let the private sector reap enormous unearned income from this project. That's not a good idea."

The Seoul metropolitan government plans to consider development gains restitution in the private sector. One of the ways is contributed acceptance.