Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explains during a press briefing at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's office, Tuesday, his plan to develop an abandoned patch of land in Seoul's Yongsan District as a new business hub. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

An empty former rail yard in Yongsan District will be transformed into an urban business hub of Seoul, making the underdeveloped area near the country's presidential office into one of the city's future business spots.

The 493,000-square-meter piece of land near Yongsan Station will usher in office buildings for over 70 percent of its total area so that it can be designated a non-residential zone. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, in a press briefing at city hall, Tuesday, said the planned area will become "Asia's Silicon Valley."

According to the mayor, at least 50 percent of the land will be covered with green space, with roads directed underground.

The development project will also see a new metro transportation and transfer platform, trains and urban air mobility rides, connecting Yongsan to downtown Seoul as well as Gangnam District, Incheon International Airport and other cities across the region.

The plan will complete delineating the precise lots for different purposes on the so-called Yongsan International Business Zone by the end of the first half of 2023. Construction will begin the following year.

Oh said the new land will be one of the city's three hubs ― including the financial district of Yeouido and the cultural facilities at Nodeul Island on the Han River ― to boost the city's global competitiveness.

The vacant land, which is 70 percent owned by the country's state-run railway operator Korail, has remained derelict since 2013 when a previous development plan for the area fizzled out. The site has been considered one of the city's last patches of land available when it comes to new major development opportunities.

"Yongsan, due to its geographical condition, has long been considered a potential hub of the city connecting to Gangnam and Yeouido as well as an ideal stopover for the country's rail lines," Oh said during the briefing. "Development of the district has been delayed until now. I want to get to it before it's too late."