Government Pushes 1.8 Billion Won 'Seoul Branch' at Yongsan Park Site amid Policy Discord
![[Seoul=News1] Photographer Kwon Chang-hoe = The government is reportedly reviewing plans to utilize the Defense Acquisition Program Administration site unrelated to green space functions and returned U.S. military bases in connection with housing supply using Seoul's Yongsan Park. This is a scale capable of constructing up to 28,000 housing units. Photo shows the panoramic view of Yongsan Park as seen from the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 16th. 2026.09.16. kch0523@newsis.com /Kwon Chang-hoe / News1](https://www.suwonilbo.kr/img/write/p996ea80d02833faa8914202e1bd7066b830efce9.jpg)
As discussions continue on utilizing Yongsan Park land for youth and newlywed couple housing supply, the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute (DART), a candidate for relocation in the second round of public institution dispersal, has been found to be pursuing a plan to establish a 'Seoul branch' with approximately 1.8 billion won investment on the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration site within Yongsan Park.
According to materials submitted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration to Rep. Bu Seung-chan, the agency has prepared a plan to establish a new 'Civil-Military Convergence Technology Institute' by integrating DART in Seoul and the Korea Civil-Military Technology Promotion Corporation in Daejeon, and to use the former National Defense Promotion Center building on the former DAPA site within Yongsan Park as the 'Seoul branch.' This is a site that the government has previously mentioned as a candidate for youth and newlywed housing supply.
According to the plan, the Seoul branch will be approximately 1,500 pyeong (approximately 4,950 square meters) across five floors, with a total investment of 1.888 billion won for cooling, heating, electricity, and telecommunications work.
The budget execution process is underway. The board of directors of the Agency for Defense Development, under which DART is a subsidiary institution, voted in March to use 488 million won of the budget necessary for Seoul branch construction. The plan calls for utilizing 180 million won from DART's budget, with the remaining approximately 1.22 billion won to be covered through the Agency for Defense Development's research and development reserve fund.
In a response submitted to Rep. Bu Seung-chan on the 18th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute is "under review as a candidate for relocation in the second round of public institution dispersal."
According to the materials, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested each ministry in January to submit review opinions on the second public institution relocation but excluded the Defense Acquisition Program Administration from the recipients in its official communication with the Defense Ministry, and the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute was not included in the review opinions of six institutions submitted by the Defense Ministry. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport maintains that it will finalize the second public institution relocation plan by year-end.
Rep. Bu Seung-chan said, "Both Yongsan Park housing supply and the second round of public institution relocation are key policy initiatives being pursued by the Lee Jae-myung administration, so they must be carefully prepared," adding "Prior to finalizing the second public institution relocation targets, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport needs to conduct a special inspection to determine whether there are any metropolitan area public institutions whose reviews have been omitted like this case, and whether candidate institutions for relocation are attempting to avoid relocation to provincial areas."