[Interview] "4th Industrial Revolution and Smart City Construction"‥ Mayor An Seungnam Confident in 'Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project'

Expecting to Attract Korea's Top ICT Companies and Create Quality Jobs
Establishing a 'Korean-style Smart City' through New Business Transformation

An Seung-nam, Mayor of Guri

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The Gurisi Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project is being promoted with a total project cost of approximately 3.23 trillion KRW on a site of about 1.49 million square meters in the Topyeong-dong area of Gurisi, under the concept of 'Number One A.I, Small but Strong City Gurisi.' Gurisi aims to leverage the 'Digital New Deal,' 'Green New Deal,' and 'Safety Net Enhancement' in connection with the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a driving force to revitalize the local economy. This project involves private sector participants selected through a public contest, with KDB Industrial Bank as the lead company, joined by KT, Kakao Enterprise, Daewoo Construction, POSCO Construction, and Yujin Enterprise. An Seung-nam, Mayor of Gurisi, expressed confidence in the project's success, stating, "We are devising the optimal project plan to create a DNA (Data-Network-AI) ecosystem-specialized self-sufficient city by attracting the nation's top ICT companies and creating quality jobs." This article presents Mayor An's vision for Gurisi's future related to the Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project. [Editor's Note]

The following is a Q&A session

- What was the reason for promoting the Gurisi Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project instead of the Gurisi World Design City (GWDC) project, which even went through litigation?

"Gurisi is the smallest city by area among cities nationwide and faces difficulties in creating a self-sufficient city due to multiple overlapping regulations. To overcome this, the GWDC project was pursued in Topyeong-dong along the Hangang Riverside for the past 13 years. However, financial feasibility analysis revealed no clear implementing or investing entities for corporate attraction and funding plans. The lifting of development restrictions and approval from the central investment review became uncertain, leading to the conclusion that the GWDC project was unsuitable. Subsequently, a new project aligned with recent trends and government policies was initiated to develop a Korean-style smart city."

- What is the project overview and current progress?

"The core is to develop a future-oriented smart city for job creation and regional economic revitalization along the Hangang Riverside in Gurisi, which is designated as a development-restricted area. It is a complex urban development project building AI-based smart offices and eco-friendly modular housing. Through a public-private joint project contest, the KDB Industrial Bank consortium was selected as the preferred negotiator and signed a joint business agreement in February. Gurisi Urban Corporation will hold 50.1% equity, and private businesses 49.9%. A special purpose corporation (SPC) will be established next year, with plans to lift development restrictions and designate urban development zones in 2023, obtain urban development zone implementation plan approval in the first half of 2024, and commence construction in the second half."

Location map of the Han River waterfront urban development project in Guri City [Provided by Guri City]

- What are the profit generation plans for the 'Korean New Deal' and 'Green New Deal'?

"The New Deal projects are not solely government or official-led. The Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project, based on the Green New Deal policy, includes the Gurifish and Agricultural Wholesale Market, e-commerce and logistics complex development, and innovative logistics, which will create jobs and enable the promotion of a new industry, the Food Tech Valley. Recently, Samsung Electronics has also expressed, albeit verbally, its intention to contribute all its technological capabilities to smart city construction. It is expected that about 100,000 jobs will be created once the Hangang Riverside smart city development project is realized. During the GWDC promotion, as a condition for foreign investment attraction, 240,000 pyeong out of 450,000 pyeong received conditional approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Central Urban Planning Committee. Moreover, private businesses focused on profit generation are formulating precise business plans. Since various economic analyses have been completed, the project can proceed quickly. Therefore, this project is a city construction endeavor jointly carried out by the public and private sectors, not solely government-led. We aim to create a city that citizens can truly feel and experience."

- What is the preemptive project for the old downtown area?

"In summary, it is a strategy to prevent the hollowing out of the old downtown caused by new town development by first developing the old downtown into a smart city. This includes undergrounding utility poles in the Guritraditional Market area, pilot smart market development, expansion of hydrogen charging stations, and expansion of bicycle paths connecting the Hangang Riverside and the old downtown. Additionally, reflecting citizens' opinions, plans are being concretely reviewed to expand free Wi-Fi zones in the old downtown, establish smart parking systems, expand sports facilities, and build a smart healthcare platform."

- What is the highest priority project to be promoted before next year's election?

"Our projects are already on an unstoppable track. Rather than prioritizing or selecting specific projects, it is appropriate to comprehensively prepare all the aforementioned initiatives to avoid them being perceived as show projects. Focusing on one aspect might lead to misunderstandings that the projects are election-driven, so we will proceed quietly and steadily."

- What would you like to ask of citizens regarding the Hangang Riverside Urban Development Project?

"In the post-COVID era, how to create smart cities using diverse technologies in all fields will enhance city brand value and determine international competitiveness. Therefore, during the remaining term of the 7th elected administration, we will concentrate all capabilities on this new concept project that integrates technologies transforming lifestyle digitally. We will repay citizens who cooperate with city policies with tangible results and sincerely thank them."