South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon are locked in a dispute over whether apartment towers should be built on part of the planned 300-hectare (740-acre) Yongsan Park. Oh says the site is needed to address Seoul’s “greenery deficit” and has rejected giving up “a single centimetre” of the capital’s largest planned park. The confrontation comes as Lee’s approval rating has fallen to 37%, a record low in a Gallup Korea poll, while Seoul apartment prices have risen for 86 consecutive weeks through the first week of September. Lee has also proposed removing protections from greenbelt zones and suburban golf courses to expand housing land, but construction at the legally protected park site would require National Assembly action. The dispute reflects the broader challenge of adding housing in a densely populated city without worsening environmental conditions. Oh, a conservative opposition figure who has served as Seoul mayor on and off for 20 years, won another term in June and is viewed by political analysts as a possible 2030 presidential contender. Lee, elected last year, can serve only one five-year presidential term, leaving his party to defend his policy legacy at the next election.