Apartments Built on 13 Sites Vacated by Major Corporations

Since 1992, 18 major corporations have relocated from Gyeonggi Province to other regions, and apartments have been built on 13 of the sites they vacated, with approximately 80,000 new residents moving in.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 10th, from 1992 to 1999, a total of 18 corporations relocated from the province to areas outside the Greater Seoul region.

When Hanwoo-Ilshin Synthetic Fiber Co., Ltd. departed Suwon in 1994 to relocate to China, apartments comprising 5,282 units were built in its place, and when Mando Machinery Co., Ltd. left Anyang for North Chungcheong Province, apartments with 1,385 units were constructed at the site.

The sites where apartments replaced major corporations include Suwon (6,576 units), Uijeongbu (2,920 units), Bucheon (1,379 units), Namyangju (7,244 units, 2 locations each), Anyang (7,251 units, 4 locations), and Hwaseong (1,499 units, 1 location), totaling 13 sites (26,849 units).

As corporations relocated, 6,500 employees who worked at these 13 sites left the region, while approximately 80,000 new apartment residents moved in, creating serious urban problems.

At the site vacated by Ace Bed in Seongnam, a logistics warehouse was built instead, and logistics warehouses and industrial parts complexes were constructed at the remaining 5 sites rather than apartments.

The province recently made "policy recommendations regarding the utilization of relocation sites for public institutions" to eight government agencies and political parties, including the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development and the Office of the Prime Minister's Office of Policy Coordination, stating that such policy failures must not be repeated.

The province's recommendations included: ▲formation of a task force or committee composed of the province and relevant city/county governments ▲refraining from using sites for population-attracting facilities such as apartments ▲securing public facilities and job opportunities lacking in the Greater Seoul area ▲establishing development strategies for the Greater Seoul region first.

Lee Hwa-soon, Director of the Urban Development Division, stated: "Based on the government's 'Comprehensive Development Plan for the Greater Seoul Region' announced on June 27, Gyeonggi Province's position is that relocation sites for public institutions should be utilized in a manner that benefits the relevant agencies, local governments, and residents within the framework of the Greater Seoul development strategy."