Yongin City Launches Full-Scale Relocation and New Construction of Choin-gu Office

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Yongin Special City announced on the 12th that it is proceeding with plans to relocate and newly construct the Choin-gu Office.

The city has initiated administrative procedures, including requesting a feasibility study from the Ministry of Interior and Safety for the '2025 Local Investment Project' to relocate and rebuild the Choin-gu Office.

Starting with the Ministry of Interior and Safety's feasibility study, the city plans to expeditiously proceed with follow-up procedures such as local finance investment reviews to specify the project details.

The Choin-gu Office, completed in 1982, has experienced structural stability concerns and space shortage issues due to aging facilities, leading to continuous citizen complaints. According to a precision safety diagnosis conducted in 2007, it received a 'Grade D' rating, and although annexes 1 and 2 were added, the site is too small to accommodate adequate parking and office space.

Moreover, with the city's scale recently expanding and population increasing, administrative demands have surged accordingly, making it difficult for the existing office to handle both administrative and civil petition tasks.

The city has reviewed the construction of a new office since 2009 to resolve these building issues, but at the time, it faced the reality that the Choin-gu Office's construction plans were difficult to proceed due to the government's restrictions on public building construction and financial constraints.

The construction plan for the Choin-gu Office, which had stalled, was resumed in 2021. Through 2023, the city gathered residents' opinions by conducting specialized consulting projects, citizen surveys, and holding local issues discussion forums.

As a result, opinions suggested that relocating and newly constructing at the comprehensive sports complex site was more appropriate than remodeling the current Choin-gu Office building.

The construction of the Choin-gu Office was adopted as a campaign pledge after the launch of the 8th elected term in 2022, reigniting the previously stalled construction plan.

The city confirmed the comprehensive sports complex site as the relocation candidate site in 2023 and is promoting a complex public facilities plan to enhance resident convenience and operational efficiency of the public office.

The new site will accommodate various public facilities including △Health Center △Water Supply Business Office △Green Park Business Office △Yongin Urban Development Corporation △Yongin Municipal Research Institute. The newly constructed Choin-gu Office interior is being planned to include spaces reflecting residents' opinions.

According to the current 'Local Finance Act,' local investment projects with total project costs of 500 billion won or more must mandatorily undergo feasibility studies by specialized institutions designated by the Minister of Interior and Safety. Additionally, following the 'Public Property and Goods Management Act Enforcement Decree,' building area standards for public offices are strictly applied, so determining appropriate office size is also being conducted in parallel.

The Choin-gu Office complex construction project is scheduled to request a feasibility study in 2025, undergo investment review in 2026, comply with various administrative procedures, and pursue architectural planning and detailed design. Subsequently, construction is targeted to begin in 2028 with completion targeted for 2032.

Mayor Lee Sang-il stated, "We will proceed seamlessly with the Choin-gu citizens' long-cherished wish of relocating and rebuilding the Choin-gu complex municipal office to provide citizens with administrative, civil petition, and leisure spaces," and added, "We will make every effort to ensure that administrative procedures such as the Ministry of Interior and Safety's feasibility study and investment review proceed expeditiously."