GOYANG — The city of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province is joining forces with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) to push for regulatory changes that would strengthen the city's self-sufficiency, as it seeks to accelerate redevelopment of the aging Ilsan new town.
Goyang Mayor Min Kyung-sun inspected the Ilsan new town redevelopment site on the 21st with Land Minister Hong Ji-sun and the head of LH's Regional Balance Division, and the three discussed ways to cooperate on policy to keep the project moving.
The joint inspection team received briefings on the Ilsan aging new town redevelopment and on LH's project to rebuild long-term public rental housing, then visited Baeksong Village, a pilot district for the Ilsan new town redevelopment.
"The pilot district project in the aging Ilsan new town is moving relatively slowly compared with the other first-generation new towns, so visible results that residents can feel need to come quickly," Hong said at the site. "Please make every effort to ensure there are no setbacks in follow-up procedures such as the designation of special redevelopment zones."
Min responded that the city would push to revise its master plan for the Ilsan aging new town redevelopment to allow for reasonable urban renewal and more active rebuilding. "We will strengthen communication with residents while working closely with MOLIT and other related agencies," he said.
Min also handed Hong a set of five policy proposals covering long-standing priorities for Goyang. They call for changes to the system for allocating industrial land quotas to strengthen the self-sufficiency of public housing districts; improvements to the rules governing small-scale, self-directed redevelopment of settlements released from greenbelt designation; the inclusion of Daegok Station's multimodal transfer center in wider metropolitan transport plans; the extension of the Goyang-Eunpyeong rail line into Ilsan under the national plan; and support for building infrastructure to test urban air mobility (UAM) at KINTEX.
Min pointed to the structural constraints the city faces because its entire territory is designated an overconcentration control zone, which limits the expansion of its industrial base. He argued strongly for revisions to the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act and the Special Act on Public Housing.
"When public housing districts are developed, industrial land quotas should be allocated alongside them to provide real support for attracting businesses, and a legal framework should be put in place so that quotas can be adjusted between wider local governments," Min said. "If we disperse demand concentrated in Seoul by building a self-sufficient city where people live close to where they work, we can also address national challenges such as stabilizing the property market and easing traffic congestion."