Seoul Begins Turning Yongsan Electronics Market Into AI and ICT Hub

Seoul is starting the first construction phase of a long-planned overhaul of Yongsan Electronics Market, seeking to turn the once-dominant retail district into a specialized center for artificial intelligence and information and communications technology.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said construction would begin this month. The groundbreaking is the first since the city unveiled its redevelopment strategy in June 2023, building on Mayor Oh Se-hoon's pledge two years earlier to remake the area as an Asian technology hub.

The project is intended to replace an aging, retail-centered landscape with a mixed-use innovation district. Plans include space for software companies, digital-content producers, research and development operations and startups. Retail, cultural and sports facilities are also planned, reflecting an effort to attract workers and visitors rather than create a business-only campus.

Redevelopment is moving forward in eight of the market's 11 zones. Building permits have been issued for four zones, including Zone 5, described by the city as a gateway to the market. The city has not presented the overhaul as a single construction project with one completion date, but as a linked transformation across multiple sites.

Public infrastructure is a central part of the plan. Seoul intends to connect the redevelopment areas through an elevated pedestrian walkway of about 570 meters running east to west, as well as 11 bridges between zones. The network of walkways, public spaces and greenery is designed to create a more continuous pedestrian route between the market and Yongsan Station.

Yongsan Electronics Market opened in 1987 and grew into South Korea's largest electronics shopping center during the spread of personal computers and mobile phones in the 1990s. Its traditional business model later came under pressure from online commerce, while its buildings and infrastructure aged. At one point, the vacancy rate across the roughly 20-building market exceeded 60 percent, according to the city.

The redevelopment therefore represents both an urban renewal effort and an attempt to preserve Yongsan's association with technology under a new economic model. Instead of relying mainly on sales of consumer electronics, city officials want the district to accommodate companies that develop software, digital media and AI-related services.

Seoul expects to secure approximately 247 billion won in cash contributions from developers. The city said those funds would support balanced development in other parts of the capital, linking the Yongsan project to its broader urban policy goals.