70,000 Households in Gwangmyeong-Siheung... The Largest '3rd Generation New Town' in the Southwest Region

First Announcement of New Public Housing Sites
Largest Scale in Southwest Region with Commute to Seoul
District Designation to be Completed Next Year, Sales in 2025
31,000 Households in Busan Daejeo and Gwangju Sanjeong
Land Transaction Permit Zones Designated to Prevent Speculation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] A new town with a scale of 70,000 households will be developed in the Gahak and Hakon neighborhoods of Gwangmyeong City and the Gwarim neighborhood of Siheung City, in the Gwangmyeong-Siheung district. This is the first new public housing site in the Seoul metropolitan area under the government's 2·4 supply plan.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 24th that it has preliminarily confirmed the locations for 101,000 households across three nationwide districts as part of the follow-up measures to the "Public-led 3080+, Drastic Expansion Plan for Housing Supply in Metropolitan Areas" announced on the 4th of this month. The designated housing sites include one in the metropolitan area, Gwangmyeong-Siheung (70,000 households), and two in local metropolitan cities: Busan Daejeo (18,000 households) and Gwangju Sanjeong (13,000 households).

A Ministry official explained, "For the metropolitan area, considering housing supply in the southwestern region near Seoul, regional balance, and transportation conditions, Gwangmyeong-Siheung was selected as the sixth 3rd generation new town." Previously, the Ministry designated Namyangju Wangsuk, Hanam Gyosan, Goyang Changneung, Bucheon Daejang, and Incheon Gyeyang as 3rd generation new towns last year.

The Gwangmyeong-Siheung district covers an area of 12.71 million square meters, making it the largest among the 3rd generation new towns. The 2nd generation new town, Gimpo Hangang New Town, covers 11.7 million square meters, which is smaller than Gwangmyeong-Siheung. It is the largest new town in the southwestern metropolitan area with commuting access to Seoul.

The Ministry plans to develop Gwangmyeong-Siheung as a hub city in the southwestern area near Seoul. Additionally, 30% of the total area, or 3.8 million square meters, will be developed into parks, green spaces, and waterfront parks. A rail-centered public transportation system will be established to enable access to downtown Seoul within 20 minutes, and road measures will be implemented to improve traffic conditions in surrounding areas, including resolving bottlenecks.

Regarding the first phase of newly announced public housing sites, the Ministry plans to complete district designation by the first half of next year after public consultation, strategic environmental impact assessments, and review by the Central Urban Planning Committee. Apartment sales will proceed sequentially starting in 2025. The specific locations and quantities for the remaining approximately 150,000 households, beyond the first announced districts, will be disclosed around April after consultations with local governments.

Meanwhile, the planned development areas and surrounding regions have been designated as land transaction permission zones, prohibiting speculative land transactions such as ownership and surface rights for up to five years. The Ministry plans to strengthen planned investigations of actual transactions and on-site inspections to curb speculative demand, including abnormal transactions and illegal activities occurring in the development and adjacent areas.