Najin Arcade, a symbol of Seoul's Yongsan Electronics Market, will be transformed into a new industrial hub centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (ICT). The plan aims to reshape the aging electronics arcade into an advanced business facility and create a future industrial cluster connected to the Yongsan International Business District.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 15th that it had approved the architectural review for the "New Construction Project in Special Planning District 8 of the Yongsan Electronics Market Area" at the 11th Architecture Committee meeting. The site covers Buildings 17 and 18 of Najin Arcade and the Yongsan Parking Building lot in Hangang-ro 2-ga, Yongsan-gu. It will house business facilities, neighborhood living facilities, and sports facilities spanning nine underground floors to 26 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 155,202㎡. Construction is set to begin in 2027, with completion targeted for 2030.
The project focuses on redeveloping Najin Arcade, completed in 1969, and the Yongsan Parking Building, completed in 1988, to secure business space for AI and ICT firms and other new-industry companies while maintaining the industrial identity of the Yongsan Electronics Market. The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects it to serve as a future industrial outpost functionally connecting the Yongsan International Business District and the electronics market.
The lower floors will feature neighborhood living facilities and an open lounge, creating space that citizens and resident companies can use together, while the upper floors will concentrate on new-industry business facilities. The plan is to create a mixed-use work environment that combines work, exchange, and rest functions.
The walking environment will also be significantly improved. An elevated public pedestrian passage connecting Cheongpa-ro and Yongsan Station, a bridge linking adjacent special planning districts, and a 5-meter-wide public pedestrian passage will be newly built to connect the electronics market, Yongsan Station, and surrounding development areas in a multi-dimensional manner. Public open spaces, green areas, and rest areas will also be created to build a pedestrian-friendly urban space.
Public contribution facilities will include a 400-space public parking lot and a Seoul Metropolitan Government veterans affairs center. The public parking lot will also house a depot for call taxis for the disabled and bicycle-related facilities, while the veterans affairs center will gather scattered veterans groups in one place to strengthen public service functions.
The project is also accelerating the reorganization of the Yongsan Electronics Market. In March, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also approved the architectural review for Special Planning District 10, covering the area around Buildings 19 and 20 of Najin Arcade, for AI- and ICT-centered business facilities (eight underground floors to 28 above-ground floors, total floor area of 97,857㎡). While Special Planning District 10 is a new-industry business facility applying innovative design, Special Planning District 8 will be developed as a mixed-use hub combining AI and ICT business space with public functions such as a pedestrian network and public parking. Through these successive developments, the Yongsan Electronics Market area is being reorganized into an AI and ICT industrial cluster linked to the Yongsan International Business District.
Myung No-joon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Housing Bureau, said, "The Yongsan Electronics Market area has central Seoul location and excellent transportation accessibility, giving it high growth potential for new industries such as AI and ICT." He added, "We will develop the aging electronics arcade into a new urban hub where future industrial infrastructure blends with pedestrian and green spaces, enhancing synergy with the Yongsan International Business District."
