By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- Land Minister Kim Yun-duk said Wednesday the government is considering using parts of Yongsan Park that have already lost some of their function as green spaces for limited housing development.

Kim dismissed concerns that the government plans to turn the central Seoul park into a massive public housing development as part of efforts to increase housing supply in the capital.

The park, mostly located on land returned from the former U.S. military garrison, spans about 3 million square meters, equivalent to roughly 420 soccer fields.

"It is not true that the government is pushing to build houses by bulldozing green areas in Yongsan Park," Kim said during a parliamentary committee meeting at the National Assembly.

Kim said the government is reviewing sites within or around the park that have already been developed or used for other purposes, citing former officers' residences, military housing and the former site of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Regarding the possible use of greenbelt areas for housing, Kim said the government could consider areas that have already lost much of their environmental value, while preserving green spaces that need protection.

Kim said he plans to discuss the proposal Thursday with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has openly opposed developing green areas in central Seoul for housing.

The government's housing plan calls for supplying more than 230,000 additional homes in the Seoul metropolitan area by accelerating development on public land, easing some greenbelt restrictions and supporting private-sector projects.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

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