[Desk Column] Gimpo Airport Reduced to a Candidate Site for New Town Development

[Asia Economy Jeong Doohwan, Deputy Director and Head of Construction and Real Estate Department]

The official name of Japan's Haneda Airport is 'Tokyo International Airport.' Opened in 1951, this airport was the undisputed gateway to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, until Narita Airport opened in 1978. Due to a surge in air passenger demand, most international flights have since moved to Narita Airport, which is ten times larger, but Haneda remains essential for domestic flights and short-haul routes such as those to Korea. This is because Haneda is only 16 km from downtown Tokyo, making it much more accessible than Narita, which is 60 km away. Consequently, airfare between Korea and Japan is also higher on the Gimpo-Haneda route than on the Incheon-Narita route.

The history of airports in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, resembles that of Tokyo. Gimpo Airport, which served as Seoul's gateway since its opening in 1958, faced an existential crisis after Incheon International Airport opened in 2001. However, even after 20 years, Gimpo Airport continues to fulfill its role for domestic flights as well as short-distance international routes.

Ahead of the presidential election, the 'airport new town development theory' has surfaced. This idea originated from the campaign of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, who has pledged to supply 2.5 million housing units, including 1 million basic housing units, during his term. The plan is to create a new town at Gimpo Airport to supply a large number of housing units.

At first glance, it sounds attractive. Gimpo Airport already has a well-established metropolitan transportation network, including the subway. Its area is about 8.63 million square meters, comparable to Pangyo New Town. If undeveloped surrounding land is included, the city size could be even larger. The plan estimates that about 200,000 housing units could be supplied.

But why hasn't housing been built on this prime land until now? The reason is simple: unless the airport is completely removed, an alternative airport must be prepared to replace its functions. The Democratic Party campaign has proposed a plausible alternative of expanding Incheon Airport to transfer Gimpo Airport's functions. However, this is also a simplistic idea. If domestic flights are moved to Incheon Airport, most domestic routes would effectively have to close. Given Incheon Airport's relatively poorer accessibility, it would be better to use alternative transportation such as KTX rather than traveling there. This is why Haneda Airport has remained an important gateway to Tokyo even 70 years after Narita Airport opened.

In Seoul, large-scale development sites have already run out after the Magok district in Gangseo-gu. The urgency behind proposing Gimpo Airport development to expand supply is understandable. However, it is questionable whether such claims have been thoroughly examined for feasibility.

Every presidential election, we encounter groundbreaking housing supply plans that catch our attention. The Lee Myung-bak administration's 'half-price apartments' within the Green Belt and the Park Geun-hye administration's 'Happy Housing on Railways' pledge are representative examples. Although they sounded promising, the outcomes were the same. The half-price apartments faded away except in some parts of Gangnam, and the Happy Housing on Railways project was scrapped without even breaking ground. It is positive that leading presidential candidates like Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party emphasize supply expansion instead of purely regulatory real estate policies. However, flashy pledges without concrete implementation plans only deepen the market's sense of loss.

If the goal is to truly expand supply, small but certain policy alternatives should be considered first before making grand promises to win votes. That is the first step to avoid repeating the failed real estate policies of previous administrations.