Seoul's green space a battleground for mayor and South Korea's president
SEOUL: A showdown over green space is pitting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is trying to address a national housing crisis as his approval ratings slump, against Seoul’s mayor, who is pushing to create a huge park in the capital.
A disagreement between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is arising over the use of a vast green space. President Lee aims to tackle the housing crisis by building apartment towers, while Mayor Oh seeks to transform the 300-hectare site into a large park to address Seoul's lack of greenery. The mayor emphasizes that he will not allow any of the park's land to be used for apartment buildings.
This conflict highlights the challenge cities face in balancing housing shortages and environmental preservation. With one of the highest population densities in the world, Seoul's residents crave more accessible green space, despite living in a city surrounded by mountains and the Han River. The controversy comes at a time when President Lee's popularity is at a record low, with real estate policy being a major factor in his declining approval ratings.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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