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Seoul City Faces Need to Rebuild 1 Billion Won Air Defense Post for 'Nodeulseom' Development

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the Capital Defense Command (CDC) is in discussions to relocate its air defense post due to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s 'Nodeul Global Art Island' project. The current three-story air defense post on Nodeulseom is obstructed by the planned aerial walkway of the new development, which will be higher, thereby restricting air defense operations. Seoul City is now in a position where it must either expand the existing post or build a new facility nearby. The current facility was built just five years ago at a cost of approximately 1 billion won, funded by the city and donated to the Ministry of National Defense.

According to documents submitted by the Capital Defense Command to the office of Representative Kim Young-bae (Democratic Party of Korea), the CDC stated that regarding the Nodeul Global Art Island project, “the altitude of the planned structures (aerial walkway) is higher than the current air defense post, which limits air defense operations, so discussions on relocating the post are underway.”

Currently, there is a three-story air defense facility (total floor area of 398㎡) on Nodeulseom. The issue is that the new upper-level structures, such as the aerial walkway (reaching up to 25m), will be higher than this building. It has been less than five years since the current post was relocated. In 2019, while developing Nodeulseom into a 'complex music culture space,' the Seoul Metropolitan Government demolished the existing two-story post and spent approximately 1 billion won in city funds to build a new three-story facility, which was donated to the Ministry of National Defense in 2020.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, which purchased Nodeulseom in 2004, set a development direction through the Nodeulseom Forum in 2013 and opened the 'complex music culture space' in 2019. At that time, a complex cultural space (Live House, Nodeul Bookstore, etc.) with a total floor area of 9,747㎡ and a lawn area called 'Nodeul Madang' were installed.

However, just four years after Nodeulseom was transformed into a music culture space, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the 'Great Hangang' project and declared a restructuring of the island. Last year, the city selected British architect Thomas Heatherwick’s 'SOUNDSCAPE' as the winner of its international design competition.

‘Soundscape’ is a work that embodies the image of Korea's mountains. Unlike the existing low-rise focus of Nodeulseom, the upper structures of Soundscape reach up to 25m (approximately the height of an 8-story building). This follows Seoul City's policy to significantly ease height and building-to-land ratio regulations for innovative designs. Seoul City has allocated a total project budget of 370.4 billion won with the goal of completion by 2028. Currently, construction of the waterfront cultural space on Nodeulseom is underway.

The problem is that even if the city eases architectural regulations, the site remains an 'anti-aircraft defense cooperation zone.' If a 25m-high structure is installed, anti-aircraft firing will become impossible from the current three-story post. Consequently, for the city to proceed with the Nodeulseom development, it must either expand the existing post to a height of eight stories or more, or rebuild it elsewhere on the island at a similar height.

In fact, when the CDC discussed changes to the Nodeulseom development plan in 2017, they gave 'conditional consent' on the condition that “a reserve air defense post be built on the roof of the tallest building in the development plan and transferred to the Ministry of National Defense.”

This was also included in Seoul City’s 2017 ‘Plan for the Donation and Transfer of Military Facilities for the Nodeulseom Specialized Space Development Project.’ According to the document, the city explicitly stated, “To maintain the building heights of the Nodeulseom project, an air defense post must be built on the top floor of the new buildings or the height of the current military facility must be increased.” Accordingly, the city built a three-story building and donated it to the Ministry of National Defense in 2020.

Regarding this, a Seoul City official stated, “It is difficult to provide an explanation regarding military facilities.”

Kim Dong-eon, director of the Seoul Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, pointed out, “It essentially means the air defense post must be reinstalled higher than the aerial garden, which is up to 25m high,” adding, “While the lives and safety of citizens should be the top priority, it appears to be taking a back seat in the redevelopment of Nodeulseom.”