Suwon, Hwaseong: "NO to General Sale of Rural Development Administration Land"

Suwon City, Hwaseong City, and the Rural Development Administration are at odds over the sale of the Rural Development Administration's relocated site. While Suwon and Hwaseong cities demand land acquisition for public facility construction, the Rural Development Administration is promoting general sale to secure relocation funds, and attention is focused on what decision the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will make regarding the site disposition plan.

According to the city and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th, the Rural Development Administration, which confirmed its relocation to North Jeolla Province in 2012, submitted a site disposition plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month.

The plan covers 4 million square meters of land belonging to the Rural Development Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs located in Suwon and Hwaseong cities, and includes details on sites that can remain, sites that must be sold, and sales methods.

The Rural Development Administration is known to be planning to sell approximately 3 million square meters of land through general sale to cover the relocation costs to Jeonju Innovation City and land acquisition costs.

However, Suwon and Hwaseong cities have expressed opposition to general sale, citing concerns over irregular development. If the Rural Development Administration land, which is mostly green space, is sold to the general public, there is a greater possibility of development into residential complexes, which could lead to irregular development.

Both cities are planning to purchase approximately 1.5 million square meters of Rural Development Administration land within the region and develop it as public facilities. Suwon plans to acquire 60,000 square meters of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences sericulture facility site in Mangpo-dong (including 5,500 square meters for library construction) and approximately 400,000 square meters of the Horticulture and Herbal Crop Research Institute land in Imok-dong, and develop the area as residential and neighborhood parks and educational facilities according to the city's planned mid-to-long-term urban development plan.

The city has already confirmed 79,000 square meters, including 30,000 square meters of the Mangpo-dong silkworm seed production facility site, 19,000 square meters of the horticultural research institute, and 30,000 square meters of the livestock research institute as neighborhood park sites, which were reflected in the 2015 urban management plan.

Hwaseong is also known to have proposed developing 920,000 square meters of the Livestock Science Institute site and National Agricultural University site in the Bongdam-eup area into a cultural and arts complex concentrated with museums and performance halls.

However, the Rural Development Administration argues for general sale, as selling such a large site of 1.5 million square meters to local governments would make it difficult to secure relocation costs of trillions of won. Nevertheless, the Administration left open the possibility that some sites could be sold separately if used for public purposes.

With differences of opinion over the sales method, attention is focused on which side the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will support. This is because the Ministry's opinions are actively reflected according to the "Special Act on the Relocation of Public Institutions to Local Areas."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently reviewing the site disposition plan submitted by the Rural Development Administration for the appropriateness of site utilization methods. The Ministry prioritizes giving local governments the right to purchase land when they request acquisition for public projects, and has a policy to cancel sales if public property is used differently from the original plan.

A city official said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will decide on the sales method, but it cannot completely ignore the region's urban planning proposal," and added, "We understand that the Rural Development Administration has accepted Suwon's utilization plan and included it in the plan."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirmed and approved the relocation plan of 27 public institutions, including the Rural Development Administration, which passed the written deliberation of the National Balanced Development Committee on December 31 last year. Among the 27 relocating institutions, a total of 8 public institutions will relocate, including 6 institutions under the Rural Development Administration (to North Jeolla Province), such as the Rural Development Administration in Seoddun-dong, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, the National Tax Service Public Officials Training Institute in Pajang-dong, Jung-gu (to Jeju), and the Regional Innovation Human Resources Development Institute (to Jeju). The confirmed 8 institutions' relocation sites amount to 3 million square meters.