[Seoul District News] Yongsan-gu Holds '2022 1st Itaewon Commercial Area Revitalization Promotion Team Meeting' on 25th at District Office Conference Room with 16 Attendees Including Yongsan-gu Mayor and Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Chairman; Shares 2021 Achievements and Discusses 2022 Itaewon Commercial Area Revitalization, Livelihood Economy Measures Support, and Alley Commercial Area Revitalization... Geumcheon-gu Begins Full-Scale Reconstruction Maintenance Project of Siheung-dong Hyundai Apartment... Gwanak-gu Accepts Startup Scale-Up Project Applications Until March 4; Supports About 20 Companies in First Half with Up to 50 Million Won Per Company... Songpa-gu, So
On the 25th, the 2022 1st Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Task Force meeting was held in the main conference room of Yongsan District Office.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Since the promotion of revitalization of the Itaewon commercial district in Yongsan-gu, the vacancy rate of medium to large stores has decreased by 17%, and that of small stores by 29%.
According to the Korea Real Estate Board's survey on commercial real estate leasing trends, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the vacancy rate of medium to large stores in the Itaewon tourist special zone was 26.7%, and that of small stores was 34.9%. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the vacancy rate was 9.4% for medium to large stores and 5.9% for small stores.
Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) held the '2022 1st Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Promotion Team Meeting' on the 25th at the district office's main conference room. The meeting was to share last year's achievements in revitalizing the commercial district and discuss projects to be promoted this year.
The Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Promotion Team was formed in February last year to support the commercial district struggling due to the COVID-19 club-related outbreak. The promotion team is a collaborative governance organization composed of the Itaewon Tourist Special Zone Association, building owners, merchants, experts, and public officials.
Sixteen people, including the Yongsan-gu mayor and the president of the Itaewon Tourist Special Zone, attended the meeting. Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said in his greeting, "The vacancy rate of stores has significantly decreased, and signs of recovery in the commercial district are beginning to appear."
The Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Promotion Team was formed in February 2021 to support the commercial district struggling due to the COVID-19 club-related outbreak. The team consists of 17 members, including the Itaewon Tourist Special Zone Association, building owners, merchants, experts, and public officials.
The main promotion areas in 2021 were ▲ revitalization of the Itaewon commercial district ▲ disaster support for small business owners ▲ collaboration with the local economic council.
The Itaewon commercial district revitalization project included the Itaewon Star Shop Project (1st phase: 4 startups, 3 preparing startups, 2nd phase under review), establishment of smart pilot stores with kiosk installation (117 locations), support for artterior (art + interior) in local stores (40 locations), and support for benevolent landlords (77 under Seoul model, 59 under Yongsan model).
Disaster support projects for small business owners included the sale of 24 billion KRW worth of Yongsan Love gift certificates, support for 4,322 cases (2.234 billion KRW) of survival funds for alley commercial districts targeting business owners with annual sales under 50 million KRW, and support for 4,030 cases (2.945 billion KRW) of Seoul Economic Vitality Funds for business owners under gathering bans or business restrictions.
Collaboration projects with the local economic council included alley commercial district revitalization (36 million KRW for facility improvement, 1.01 billion KRW for credit guarantees), installation and promotion of symbolic sculptures on Itaewon Quynon Street, production and broadcasting of promotional videos (I.T.W TOWN ON TV) in collaboration with local artists, and 24-hour opening of the Yongsan-gu Comprehensive Administrative Town's attached parking lot.
Maeng Ki-hoon, president of the Itaewon Tourist Special Zone Association, said, "If merchants come up with ideas centered on the promotion team, the district office actively promotes the projects," adding, "The public and private sectors are overcoming difficult times together based on trust."
At the meeting, the promotion team watched the music video "On the Street" together. "On the Street" is a song expressing longing for the lively Itaewon streets before COVID-19. As part of the local revitalization project, the district collaborated with hip-hop musicians to produce it. Participants included Paloalto of Highlight Records, Puff Dahee of Eight Ball Town, Ugly Duck of AOMG, Oigly, and Brilliant. It was released on February 20 at 6 p.m. on music platforms.
This year, the district plans to expand the issuance scale of Yongsan Love gift certificates to 50 billion KRW, recruit the 3rd phase of the Itaewon Star Shop Project, establish smart pilot stores, support artterior for local stores, provide loans for small and medium-sized merchants, and support specialization of alley commercial districts.
Additionally, 3 billion KRW will be invested in financial support for small and medium-sized merchants, 2 billion KRW in job fund support for youth enterprises, and 16.3 billion KRW in protection funds for tenant small business owners.
Mayor Seong Jang-hyun of Yongsan-gu said, "We will strive with the promotion team to exceed pre-COVID-19 sales levels," and added, "We will also continuously work on deregulation, including opening the Yongsan-gu Comprehensive Administrative Town parking lot."
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced on the 28th that it has approved the project implementation plan for the reconstruction and maintenance project of Hyundai Apartments in Siheung-dong.
Hyundai Apartments in Siheung-dong will proceed to construction after establishing a management disposition plan and relocation phase.
The approved project implementation plan shows that the maintenance area is located at 220-2 Siheung-dong, Geumcheon-gu, covering an area of 15,591㎡.
Five apartment buildings with 3 basement floors and 5 to 12 above-ground floors (219 households), along with auxiliary welfare facilities and neighborhood living facilities, will be newly constructed. In particular, small libraries, senior citizen centers, and multipurpose sports facilities for residents' convenience will be created, expected to improve residents' quality of life.
The project site is adjacent to Samsung Mountain and has natural-friendly location conditions. With a building height plan gradually lowering from Samsung Mountain, a natural-friendly apartment complex is expected to be created through a skyline connecting the Samsung Mountain ridge and the city.
Additionally, a new road directly connecting to the Samsung Mountain 2 Tunnel road on the north side of the project site will be constructed and donated, contributing to smooth traffic flow in the surrounding area.
Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon of Geumcheon-gu said, "We have formed a T/F team to improve low-rise residential environments and revitalize maintenance projects and are working on systematic management plans," adding, "We hope this maintenance project will be an opportunity to lead the improvement of the residential environment in Siheung-dong."
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is promoting the '2022 First Half Startup Scale-Up Project' to revitalize the local economy by supporting commercialization funds for venture startups.
The district operates various capacity-building programs such as establishing startup infrastructure, festivals to foster venture culture, startup forums, demo days, consulting, and mentoring to support the growth and local settlement of diverse startups and build a venture startup ecosystem.
The 'Startup Scale-Up Project' supports funds necessary for the commercialization of startup items, including prototype production of technologies developed by venture startups, promotion and certification of companies and products, and intellectual property support.
Applications are open until March 4, and eligible applicants are startups within 7 years of establishment, which must have a location in Gwanak-gu within one month from the date of selection. Recruitment fields include technology-based areas such as information and communication, bio, environmental energy, nanotech, convergence and complex technologies, and advanced materials and components.
Selection involves a first round of document screening including business plans, and a second round of business plan presentations and Q&A, ultimately selecting about 20 companies for the first half of the year, with results announced in April.
The support period is from the contract signing date until December 31 of this year, with a project budget of 300 million KRW and up to 50 million KRW support per company.
Companies wishing to apply should check the announcement on the Gwanak-gu website (News & Notices → Public Notices), fill out the application form, and submit it with required documents via email. For details, contact the Gwanak-gu Job Venture Division.
The district is conducting the 'Gwanak S Valley' project based on excellent talent and technology from Seoul National University and youth assets, with Nakseongdae-dong-centered Nakseong Venture Valley and Daehak-dong-centered Sillim Startup Valley as two main pillars.
Companies residing in startup support facilities within 'Gwanak S Valley' have achieved 20.5 billion KRW in sales, 38.7 billion KRW in investment attraction, and 9.8 billion KRW in selected support projects over the past three years.
To support the growth of local venture startups, the district invested a total of 350 million KRW last year to provide commercialization support funds to 25 companies and has expanded the project this year with a total budget of 500 million KRW.
Accordingly, the district plans to hold an additional call for the 'Startup Scale-Up Project' in the second half of this year, focusing on continuous and creative venture business development through direct financial support for venture companies' item commercialization.
Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Sung-soo) will increase the sales commission for volume-based garbage bags and food waste payment certificates from the current 6% to 9% starting in March without any change to consumer prices.
The sales commission for volume-based garbage bags is the profit for sales outlets. Songpa-gu has maintained the commission rate at 6% since 2017 but decided to raise it to 9% to alleviate the management difficulties of small business owners suffering from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
With the commission increase, the annual total profit of 772 sales outlets in the district (as of January 2022) is expected to increase by about 44 million KRW, averaging about 570,000 KRW per outlet.
Additionally, the tendency to avoid credit card payments for volume-based garbage bags is expected to be resolved, and the number of sales outlets will increase, improving convenience for all residents.
Mayor Park Sung-soo of Songpa-gu said, "This sales commission increase came out of efforts to seek COVID-19 support policies for small business owners," adding, "We will continue to carry out empathetic administration that carefully considers even the small difficulties of local small business owners."
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) 1-Person Creative Enterprise Support Center (hereafter the Center) received the highest grade (S grade) again last year in the '2021 1-Person Creative Enterprise Support Center Operation Performance Evaluation' conducted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Startup Promotion Agency).
Since its opening in 2011 under the 'Act on Fostering 1-Person Creative Enterprises,' the Seongbuk-gu 1-Person Creative Enterprise Support Center has achieved outstanding results in the startup field and is the only one among 48 such centers nationwide to receive the highest grade for 11 consecutive years, serving as a model for startup incubating facilities.
The Center, jointly operated by Seongbuk-gu and the Seongbuk-gu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is located at 63 Dongsomun-ro (Seongbuk-dong) and provides 31 office seats for simultaneous enterprise activities, meeting rooms, multimedia rooms, and offices.
The Center also supports startup education, seminars, networking activities, expert mentoring, technical, legal, and tax consultations for 1-person creative enterprises, carefully managing government project selection support, new startups, intellectual property applications, and other optional projects. As a result, since its opening, it has achieved remarkable outcomes with 144 new startups, 283 jobs created, 35.39 billion KRW in sales, and 123 intellectual property applications.
Seongbuk-gu has been promoting various projects to support youth startups and enterprise growth, starting with the Venture Startup Support Center (Jangwi-dong) in 2000, followed by the 1-Person Creative Enterprise Support Center, the Middle-aged Technology Startup Center, and public rental housing called Dojeonsuk supplied through collaboration with the district, Seoul Regional Small and Medium Business Administration, and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, addressing startup operation and housing issues.
Mayor Lee Seung-ro of Seongbuk-gu said, "The Center's highest rating in the evaluation is the result of continuous support with deep interest from government, academia, and private sectors for youth startup development," adding, "Seongbuk-gu will continue to spare no support so that the district becomes a truly good autonomous district for startups, helping prospective entrepreneurs grow from 1-person enterprises to mid-sized companies."
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