JYP Entertainment Weighs Canceling New Headquarters Over Rezoning Dispute
Rendering of JYP Entertainment’s new headquarters / Gangdong District Office
JYP Entertainment’s plan to build a new headquarters in eastern Seoul is at risk. The project is on hold while the company weighs options, including withdrawal, after the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) stated that restoring a neighboring site’s park designation would be difficult.
According to K-POP IT reporting on Sept. 1, SH sent JYP a formal response on Aug. 31 noting that returning the lot in front of the planned headquarters to park use is difficult.
JYP told K-POP IT, “We received an official response from SH stating that restoring the park site to its original status would be difficult. We are therefore reviewing a range of possible responses.”
JYP has been planning an integrated headquarters in Godeok Biz Valley in Seoul’s Gangdong district. In October 2023, the firm won the bid for a 10,675-square-meter plot in Block 2 of the Godeok-Gangil district’s logistics and sales facility zone for roughly 75.5 billion won.
The building was planned with a total floor area of about 69,259 square meters, spanning five basement levels and 17 above-ground floors. The design featured an 800-seat performance venue and cultural and rest areas open to residents. JYP secured a building permit in April and targeted construction for the second half of the year.
The dispute involves a 13,261-square-meter plot about 20 meters south of the site. The land was designated parkland when JYP won the bid, but it was later rezoned as a self-sufficiency facility site for business development.
Under the revision, the property can house an 18- to 19-story building with a floor area ratio up to 400%. If sold and developed, a high-rise could stand directly in front of the planned JYP headquarters.
SH stated it reduced the district’s green-space allocation by 1% of the development area under relevant rules to fund school facilities in Godeok-Gangil. Other green areas were designated preservation zones that could not be reduced, leading SH to rezone this specific park site.
SH tried selling the property for about 103.9 billion won, but the first auction drew no bids. The land has not returned to park use, leaving open the possibility of another sale attempt.
In June, JYP stated, “We proceeded with the purchase based on our trust in the land conditions and business value disclosed at the time of the initial sale. The unprecedented changes to the surrounding environment since then could pose significant disruption and risks to the privacy of our personnel, the physical security of our headquarters and, more broadly, our overall business.”
The company added, “We strongly hope that the land conditions in place at the time of our purchase can be secured. If not, we view this as a matter serious enough that we may have no choice but to consider withdrawing.”
In short, JYP views restoring the original site conditions as crucial to continuing the project.
JYP Entertainment’s new headquarters, designed by architect Hyunjoon Yoo / Hyunjoon Yoo + Partners
For JYP, rezoning is not just about losing a view. The company argues it undermines the headquarters’ core design concept and security requirements.
The building was designed as a ring around a central courtyard. The surrounding structure shields the courtyard from outside sightlines, letting staff use outdoor space privately. Some ground-floor areas around the courtyard were meant to open to the public and link with the front park, balancing privacy and community access.
Hyunjoon Yoo, architect and principal at Hyunjoon Yoo + Partners, told K-POP IT that rezoning ruins the design’s core concept.
If a high-rise goes up directly in front, the link between the courtyard and the planned park weakens, and upper floors could overlook inward-facing areas.
“Opening the first floor to the public is one thing,” Yoo said. “Having ordinary citizens looking down from the 20th floor is something else entirely. If that happens, the risk is that we end up with a very ordinary corporate headquarters.”
Yoo noted a compromise is still possible without restoring the original plan entirely. SH could adjust land allocations by moving the park portion toward the main road to create distance, or enforce height limits for low-rise development.
In Yoo’s view, the current land-use plan leaves room for a middle ground, adding that neighboring landowners should have been consulted earlier.
With SH’s position official, JYP’s request to restore original site conditions remains unmet. Whether the company will pull out of the Godeok project is still undecided.
JYP previously stated it would weigh withdrawal if the park site was not restored, and it is now reviewing its next steps after SH’s response.