[Interview] Park Ilha, Dongjak District Mayor, "Changing Dongjak's Map to Achieve the 'City of the Highest Value'"

Completion of Establishment of 'Daehanminguk Dongjak Corporation' Lays Institutional Foundation to Change 'Map of Dongjak'... Formulation of 'Dongjak-gu Comprehensive Development Plan' as Future Blueprint for Urban Direction and Development Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “We will create a ‘Best Value City’ that residents take pride in.”

This was the first topic raised by Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, in an interview. A strong determination for new changes and development in Dongjak was felt.

Park Il-ha was elected in the June 1 election with 53.5% of the vote, receiving support from well over half of the residents. Mayor Park said, “I believe the residents’ earnest desire for change in Dongjak, which has lost momentum over the past 12 years, is directed toward a mayor with a background in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. I will take this as a stern command from the residents to enhance Dongjak’s development and quality of life, and I will carry out the district administration with humility and without losing my original intention.”

Dongjak-gu is located at the geographic center, serving as a transportation hub with major roads connecting east, west, south, and north, and it borders the Han River, making it a region rich in potential value compared to other districts.

Currently, large-scale redevelopment projects are underway in Noryangjin and Heukseok-dong, and public and private housing maintenance projects such as Moa Housing are actively being promoted.

◇ First order of business after inauguration: Completing the establishment procedures for ‘Republic of Korea Dongjak Corporation’ ? Establishing an institutional foundation to change the ‘Map of Dongjak’

“The appearance of Dongjak will be significantly different four years from now.”

Mayor Park Il-ha’s first pledge in the 8th local government term is ‘Dongjak-gu style redevelopment and reconstruction.’ To realize this, his first order after inauguration was the establishment of the ‘Republic of Korea Dongjak Corporation.’

The ‘Republic of Korea Dongjak Corporation’ is a consulting organization specializing in housing maintenance projects, established and invested in by the district, composed of urban planning experts. The related ordinance was passed by the district council in October, the corporation registration was completed on November 19, and recruitment of experts in urban maintenance is currently underway.

Mayor Park explained, “There are frequent delays in administrative processing due to incomplete documentation during redevelopment and reconstruction processes. By going through prior consultation procedures via the corporation, the permit period can be reduced by 101 days (from 165 days to 64 days).”

The district plans to build a new model of ‘Dongjak-gu style redevelopment and reconstruction’ led by the district office and is also considering investment methods in the ‘Dongjak-gu style redevelopment and reconstruction projects’ through the ‘Republic of Korea Dongjak Corporation.’

To this end, the budget for next year includes project costs for designating maintenance zones. Based on basic surveys of housing aging and density, project sites with high feasibility will be selected, and project methods suitable for local conditions will be applied.

Since the district will lead directly, it plans to promote the projects by considering various aspects such as coordinating interests between landowners and tenants and addressing policy issues for original residents.

Mayor Park said, “The first candidate site will be selected where transportation is excellent and resident consent rates are high. We will shorten the project period, which used to take more than 13 years from district designation to construction, to within four years and complete occupancy within my term.”

The speed of housing maintenance is accelerating.

On August 8, the Heukseok Maintenance Zone 11 received management disposition plan approval in just 136 days, giving momentum to project promotion. Also, two sites were selected in the Seoul city housing supply expansion policy ‘Moa Town’ contest, and a Moa Town residents’ briefing session was held to activate these projects.

Mayor Park expressed his ambition, saying, “We plan to create a premium residential area equipped with all necessary infrastructure, including transportation and roads, so the city can function properly. Once the housing maintenance projects are completed, Dongjak will grow into a new center representing Seoul.”

◇ Parallel expansion of social infrastructure such as transportation, roads, electricity, and safety ? Developing projects with a direction for the entire city

“We aim for a population of 500,000 and plan to rebuild the urban plan from scratch.”

Dongjak-gu is envisioning urban development and growth with a direction for the entire city. To this end, it has allocated a budget for establishing an urban planning master plan and plans to establish the ‘Dongjak-gu Comprehensive Development Basic Plan,’ a future urban planning roadmap, which will present comprehensive guidelines including infrastructure expansion such as transportation, roads, electricity, and safety.

Mayor Park has shown his expertise as an urban planning professional and is producing visible results since taking office.

First, Hyeonchung-ro, a section prone to frequent congestion, is adjacent to the Han River, making road expansion impossible. The district is promoting the stop of express trains on Line 9 at Heukseok Station as a traffic demand-sharing measure. To proceed with the feasibility study for express train stops, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Seoul Metro Line 9 Corporation is planned, and the budget for the feasibility study was secured through the first supplementary budget of the 8th local government term.

Mayor Park Il-ha said, “When the large-scale maintenance project in Heukseok-dong is completed and about 7,000 households move in, traffic congestion on Hyeonchung-ro will worsen. It is natural that express train stops are decided based on passenger demand.”

The district plans to expand roads in Noryangjin and Heukseok-dong, where large-scale urban development is underway, in connection with development plans: expanding the road from Noryangjin Samgeori to Jangseungbaegi direction (from 4 lanes to 6 lanes, and from 6 lanes to 8 lanes), and expanding Seodal-ro in Heukseok-dong (from 2 lanes to 4 lanes).

Additionally, user-centered traffic system improvement measures have been prepared.

The installation of a left-turn signal at Sinsangdocho Intersection for optimal signal system improvement passed the National Police Agency review in October and is scheduled to begin construction early next year aiming for completion in March. The first supplementary budget of the 8th local government term secured the budget for basic and detailed design for road traffic facilities installation (5 locations), including the U-turn lane at Gyeongnam Apartment in Sindaebang-dong.

Above all, the district plans to directly promote the detailed design and installation of traffic facilities, which previously depended solely on Seoul city, to promptly improve the unreasonable traffic system.

In addition, the district secured 5.2 billion KRW in project costs for the ‘Green New Deal Undergrounding Project’ led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2023, and construction will begin next year on the section from Dongjak Kyunghee Hospital to Sindaebang Samgeori. For urban safety, 187 surveillance cameras have been installed at 46 locations, 1,521 flood barriers and 2,976 backflow prevention valves have been installed with flood barrier height increased from 40 to 60 meters, and to prevent accidents caused by heavy snow, 2,025 meters of road heating cables (15 locations) and 1,160 meters of automatic salt spray devices (4 locations) have been installed to proactively prepare for winter disasters.

Mayor Park Il-ha said, “Four years from now, I want residents to say that Dongjak-gu has developed under Mayor Park Il-ha. I will become a ‘working mayor’ recognized by residents with tangible results, not just words.”