[Interview] Kim Tae-woo, Gangseo District Mayor: "Creating a High-Quality Premium Balanced City through 'Redevelopment of Original Downtown from Hwagok to Magok'"

Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Announces Plan to Transform Hwagok-dong, Home to 200,000 Residents (35% of 570,000 Gangseo Citizens), into Magok by Improving Poor Living Conditions Despite High Residential Density, Narrow Roads, and Insufficient Sidewalks

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Among the public pledge projects of the 8th elected term in Gangseo-gu, the number one pledge is ‘Hwagok becomes Magok’?the redevelopment and reconstruction of the old downtown area. It is a core project of the 8th elected term in Gangseo-gu, aiming for a high-quality balanced city, and is progressing steadily.”

Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, said, “During the campaign, I personally toured various parts of Hwagok-dong, where about 200,000 people, or 35% of the 570,000 residents of Gangseo-gu, live, by village bus. Despite the high residential density, I was deeply saddened by the poor living conditions such as narrow roads and insufficient sidewalks, and I am determined to transform the underdeveloped ‘Hwagok’ into ‘Magok.’”

First, a dedicated organization was established to carry out the redevelopment and reconstruction of the old downtown area. Within the Urban Planning Division, a ‘Old Downtown Development Team’ was created to promote redevelopment and reconstruction, and a ‘Moatown Team’ was established to handle Moa Housing and Moa Town projects. The ‘Height Restriction Relaxation Support Team’ was moved to the Urban Planning Division to create synergy among projects. These teams are working hard on enacting ordinances to support old downtown revitalization, forming and operating a public-private joint old downtown promotion committee, and revising ordinances to support the relaxation of airport height restrictions.

Since the residents are the main stakeholders in the redevelopment and reconstruction of the old downtown, efforts are also being made to share the vision and communicate. At a residents’ briefing session held in September in the auditorium on the second basement floor of the district office, about 500 people packed the venue, showing the strong desire for revitalizing the old downtown.

On that day, Mayor Kim clearly explained the process and future vision of the old downtown redevelopment and reconstruction, expressing a strong determination to lead the success of the pledge through a triangular alliance of residents, government, and experts, receiving cheers and applause from the residents. He also sincerely answered residents’ public questions, building consensus.

The launch of the ‘Old Downtown Revitalization Citizen Supporters,’ who serve as a bridge between Gangseo-gu and its residents, has given wings to the smoothly progressing project. Fifty supporters, spanning generations from their 20s to 70s, will provide ideas related to old downtown revitalization and promote policies for two years until September 2024. Mayor Kim said, “Since voluntary and active participation of residents, along with the district office and experts, is most important, I hope they will carry out active activities with pride in contributing to the development of their hometown,” encouraging their future efforts.

Gangseo-gu plans to establish and operate a dedicated organization called the ‘Old Downtown Revitalization Promotion Team’ in January next year to promote old downtown revitalization more systematically and efficiently. A working-level consultative body composed of related departments will also be formed to cooperate with the promotion team to discover tasks for improving the living environment in the old downtown, focusing on improving pedestrian environments and early realization of height restriction relaxation. Mayor Kim said, “The promotion team will systematically establish a comprehensive plan covering land, infrastructure, and transportation in the old downtown area and will be responsible for various new maintenance projects to alleviate residents’ relative deprivation caused by worsening regional imbalance.”

Recently, good news was delivered to residents. On the 20th of last month, two areas?55-327 Gonghang-dong and 957 Hwagok 6-dong?were included among the 26 Moa Town target sites for the second half of the year in Seoul. As a result, the number of Moa Town target sites in Gangseo-gu increased from seven, including the existing 1087 Hwagok-dong area, to nine.

The two newly selected sites in Gangseo-gu will be designated as ‘Small-scale Housing Maintenance Management Areas,’ which have legal effect for Moa Town, after establishing management plans and going through procedures such as Seoul city resident inspection and integrated review, thus entering full-scale projects.

Developing these areas into Moa Towns allows them to receive various benefits provided by Seoul City, such as support for public and infrastructure facility construction costs, one-step zoning upgrades, and public architect design. It also enables the expansion of urban infrastructure such as underground parking lots, roads, parks, and community facilities for residents. Mayor Kim said, “We judged that Moa Town is the optimal method to dramatically improve the residential environment in Hwagok, Deungchon, and Banghwa-dong, which had been neglected due to not meeting redevelopment requirements such as aging.” He added, “It is expected to solve chronic problems in low-rise housing dense areas such as parking difficulties and improve quality of life by expanding parks and community facilities.” Mayor Kim Tae-woo said, “We will also pay attention to guaranteeing residents’ cultural enjoyment rights in the old downtown areas such as Hwagok-dong, and ultimately create a high-quality balanced city, a premium Gangseo-gu, where the local economy is revitalized as a self-sustaining space equipped not only with housing but also green spaces and culture.”