Gyeongbuk Province Finally Begins Construction of 'Yeongcheon Race Park' After 13 Years

Yeongcheon Racecourse Park Construction Project Groundbreaking Ceremony Held... September 30, Yeongcheon City Project Site

Yeongcheon Racecourse Park → Regional Landmark → Hub of the Horse Industry → Leading the Regional Era

Aerial view of Gyeongbuk Yeongcheon Race Park.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Gyeongbuk Province will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on the 30th of this month for the construction of the ‘Yeongcheon Race Park’ project being promoted in the Geumho-eup and Cheongtong-myeon areas of Geumyeongcheon.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be attended by key figures including Governor Lee Cheol-woo, National Assemblyman Lee Man-hee (People Power Party, Yeongcheon·Cheongdo), Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun, and Yeongcheon Mayor Choi Ki-moon, who plan to celebrate the Yeongcheon Race Park groundbreaking ceremony.

When the project was announced in 2009, the news that a “Fourth Race Park that lays golden eggs” would be created sparked fierce competition among local governments to attract the project.

This project, which involves construction costs of several hundred billion won, has the potential to bring about a major transformation in the socio-economic, cultural, and industrial ecosystem of the host region by not only creating construction-related employment but also hiring operational staff for the race park, fostering new industries linked to the horse industry, enhancing citizen welfare and leisure through the return of operating profits to the region, and securing local fiscal soundness through increased tax revenue.

The path to the groundbreaking of the race park by Gyeongbuk Province and Yeongcheon City, which succeeded in attracting the project, was not a bed of roses but a difficult and thorny road.

Compliance with relevant laws required the establishment and revision of new regulations to smoothly promote this large-scale national project, and securing 440,000 pyeong of project land required obtaining consent from about 800 residents.

There were many difficult issues that could not be easily resolved, such as various audits, lawsuits related to land acquisition, plan changes due to amendments to relevant laws, and differences in positions among agencies depending on the issue, but the result achieved through the painstaking efforts of team members composed of experts from various institutions and fields is this groundbreaking ceremony.

The numerous working-level meetings held countless times by the Gyeongbuk Province Livestock Policy Division, Yeongcheon City Race Park Construction Promotion Team, and Korea Racing Authority Yeongcheon Construction Project Team, as well as the 12 business implementation councils, give an idea of how many issues were reviewed and negotiated to create the final plan.

The tireless efforts and support of Governor Lee Cheol-woo and National Assemblyman Lee Man-hee as bridges to the central government, as well as the efforts of Mayor Choi Ki-moon and Yeongcheon provincial and city council members to obtain residents’ consent, are also unsung heroes.

Moreover, unexpected obstacles such as difficulties in securing finances due to COVID-19, which shook our lives over the past three years, were also encountered.

The first phase of the Yeongcheon Race Park construction project, with a total budget of 185.7 billion won, will be built on a 200,000-pyeong site and will feature eight types of race distances (1 to 2 km) to provide a variety of attractions.

Additionally, two separate race tracks (outer track and inner track) designed with safety in mind, a grandstand with viewing convenience and unique design, and a nature-friendly waterfront park harmonizing with the existing natural environment will be created to provide a leisure and cultural space for citizens.

Hyundai Engineering will be in charge of construction, with completion scheduled for 2026.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province said, “The Yeongcheon Race Park, a long-cherished project of Gyeongbuk and one that could have been stalled, has been realized through painstaking efforts. With the groundbreaking ceremony held on the 30th of this month as a milestone, we will strive and support to make Yeongcheon Race Park a regional landmark for culture, tourism, leisure, and healing, turning Gyeongbuk into a mecca of the horse industry and, furthermore, laying the foundation to lead the era of local autonomy.”