[Report] "Filling Their Pockets with Land Speculation Under the Guise of Public Development" Both Residents and Original Inhabitants of Daejang District Are Outraged

Indigenous People "Land Taken at Low Price" Outraged
Residents "Unplanned Development Without Infrastructure... Feel Cheated by High Sale Prices"

A panoramic view of Pangyo Daejang District in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, where infrastructure construction such as apartments, roads, and parks is in full swing. (Photo by Ryu Taemin)

[Seongnam=Reporters Ryu Taemin and Kim Hyungmin] “They expropriated the land at a low price under the pretext of public interest, and then sold the land at a high price. It makes me angry. It feels like I was completely betrayed.” (Kim Jungwoon, a native resident of Daejang-dong, Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, pseudonym, 55)

“They claimed it was a public development, so the residents had to bear the burden because the price ceiling for sale was not applied. But in the end, all the benefits went to private developers, so it feels like we were completely scammed.” (Kim Jinyoung, a resident of Daejang-dong, Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, pseudonym, 45)

On the afternoon of the 23rd, after the Chuseok holiday, the reporter visited the Daejang district in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where apartment complex construction was in full swing. This area, which will house about 6,000 households, was still only about half occupied, showing a busy scene. The roads were congested with construction vehicles carrying stones and soil.

Daejang district is located 3 km south of Pangyo New Town. Starting with ‘Pangyo First Hill Prugio (529 households)’ in May this year, a total of 3,559 households have completed moving in. The remaining complexes are scheduled to be occupied in the second half of this year and next year.

“Land expropriated cheaply, sold at high prices”… Residents’ frustration

Apartment residents met on site expressed dissatisfaction upon hearing that ‘Seongnam’s Garden,’ a special purpose corporation (SPC) jointly established by Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and private developers, made huge profits from sales. One resident said, “Seongnam City said it was a public development, but the price ceiling was not applied, so residents bore all the burden. It feels like our money was taken by private developers, so we feel scammed.”

For example, the ‘Pangyo The Sharp Forest’ apartments sold in December 2018 were priced at about 20 million KRW per pyeong (3.3 square meters). The 84㎡ (exclusive area) units were supplied at a high price ranging from the high 60 million to mid-70 million KRW. Another resident, Mr. Lee, said, “Residents were deprived of the right to buy at a cheaper price, and we cannot just stand by. We plan to officially protest together with like-minded residents.”

The anger is shared by the original residents who lived in Daejang-dong. Kim Jungwoon (pseudonym, 55), a native resident, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, “At the time, I accepted land expropriation because they said they would build housing for the public good. If it was just to give favors to acquaintances and make money from land speculation, I would have fought to the end.”

The head of Yongin Gogi-dong A Real Estate Agency, located near the entrance of Daejang district, said, “Seongnam City expropriated land at a low price under the banner of public development, and recently, due to the real estate market boom, the sale prices have risen sharply. With the ‘Pangyo premium’ added, they must have made profits of at least several hundred billion KRW.”

Banners criticizing the reckless development by Hwacheon Daeyu, an asset management company, are posted throughout the Daejang district. (Photo by Ryu Taemin)

Weak infrastructure and “land speculation enriching local governments and developers”

Resident Kwak Haeseon (43), who lives nearby, said, “Dump trucks frequently pass right in front of the elementary school, so I cannot safely send my children to and from school. No matter how many complaints I file, nothing changes, so I have no choice but to pick up my children every day,” expressing frustration.

Although several months have passed since residents started moving in, people in the Daejang-dong area are struggling due to a lack of transportation infrastructure and convenience facilities. Kwak said, “The roads are narrow, and during rush hours, it turns into a traffic nightmare.”

A transmission tower stands tall in the center of the Daejang District residential complex. Despite residents' protests, the undergrounding of the transmission tower remains unchanged. (Photo by Ryu Taemin)

The difficulties residents face do not end there. Because transmission towers run through the apartment complexes, residents’ concerns are growing. Seongmo (55), who lives nearby, said, “Thousands of people live in this residential complex, but how can we leave a towering transmission tower right in the middle? No matter how many complaints we file with Seongnam City about undergrounding the towers, there is no sign of resolution.” In fact, residents have hung banners near the complex roads urging the undergrounding of transmission towers.

Meanwhile, Hwacheon Daeyu, at the center of the controversy over special favors, stated in a press release on the 24th that there were no legal or procedural problems regarding the project entity and compensation. Regarding the ‘half-price compensation’ issue raised by some media, Hwacheon Daeyu said, “It was conducted in accordance with the Act on Acquisition and Compensation of Land for Public Projects (Land Compensation Act),” and “The calculated compensation amount reflects the landowners’ opinions sufficiently.” They explained that if there is dissatisfaction with the compensation amount, landowners can go through relief procedures such as ‘expropriation decision - objection decision - administrative litigation,’ and many have actually used these procedures.

Hwacheon Daeyu also added that contrary to claims that Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation led the Daejang-dong project, Hwacheon Daeyu, the asset management company of Seongnam’s Garden, was fully responsible for all compensation procedures, all compensation payments, and handling all complaints.