Pyeongtaek City Says "Five-Star Hotel Recruitment Has No Favoritism"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Pyeongtaek City held an additional press conference on the 26th regarding the memorandum of agreement for attracting a five-star global brand tourism hotel (IHG voco).

The city announced that on the 15th, it signed an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with Seraphim Development Co., Ltd., the project operator, and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the hotel operator, to attract the first five-star global brand tourism hotel in Gyeonggi Province. Through the agreement, a five-star hotel with 250 or more guest rooms is scheduled to be completed in December 2022 in the area near Camp Humphreys (K-6).

In response, some raised suspicions of favoritism regarding land-use changes for the site.

Kim Jin-hyung, the city's Director of Urban Planning Division, clarified at the briefing on the 26th, "There is no financial or land support whatsoever in relation to the promotion of this project."

He continued, "The area in question is originally a planned management zone where accommodation facilities are permitted. Even after the designation of the district unit plan, the planned management zone will be maintained without any change in land-use classification."

Regarding concerns about the operator taking profits and abandoning the site after asset management company liquidation, he stated, "The operator will be maintained through the hotel operation phase after completion, which is not a form of asset management company liquidation."

He added, "The reason we signed an MOA rather than an MOU is that an MOU provides weak authority for the city to terminate if a five-star hotel does not materialize after district unit plan designation. Through the MOA, we have established legal grounds for the city to cancel the district unit plan and related permits if the site is converted to facilities other than a five-star hotel."

Meanwhile, he stated, "Disclosure of agreement details requires consent from three parties in accordance with applicable laws. However, the city provides no financial support or land provision to the operator or IHG whatsoever. The city's role is limited to administrative support only," he clarified.