'Noise and Dust Damage' Incheon Hangun and Yeonan Apartment Collective Relocation... Decision at City Council This Month

Incheon City and Incheon Port Authority Review 'Shared Property Exchange Agreement'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The final decision on the collective relocation of Incheon Hangun and Yeonan Apartments, where the residential environment is poor due to noise and dust from port facilities, will be made this month by the Incheon City Council.

Incheon City announced on the 16th that it has submitted the "Consent Proposal for the Exchange of Public Property Related to the Relocation Measures of Hangun and Yeonan Apartments" to the City Council, ahead of the review scheduled for the 284th extraordinary session on the 26th.

This is to implement the "Hangun and Yeonan Apartments Relocation Promotion Measures" established by Incheon City in 2018 and the mediation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission established in December last year. The consent proposal includes the appraised value of the exchanged properties, exchange procedures, legal review results, and utilization plans for the existing sites of Hangun and Yeonan Apartments.

Both apartments are aging complexes located behind the Incheon coastal wharf. Hangun Apartment, built in 1982 at 53-4, Sinheung-dong 3-ga, Jung-gu, is a five-story apartment complex with 480 households. Yeonan Apartment, located opposite Hangun Apartment across Seohae-daero, was built the following year in 1983 and has a total of 690 households.

Apartment at Incheon Port undergoing collective relocation
[Photo provided by Incheon City]

Previously, Incheon City and the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries decided to promote the collective relocation of residents of the two apartments through a land swap. The land swap targets are 48,892㎡ of the North Port rear site in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, owned by Incheon City, and 54,550㎡ of the Incheon Songdo Aam Logistics Complex 2 owned by the Incheon Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office.

The exchange of public property related to the relocation of the two apartments requires the consent of the City Council under the "Public Property and Goods Management Act."

The land swap will be conducted in a way that Incheon City first exchanges these national and public lands to acquire the relocation site, then exchanges it again with the residents of Hangun and Yeonan Apartments. This is to resolve disagreements over exchange conditions that had caused conflicts for over ten years while attempting a direct exchange between the state and residents.

If the consent proposal passes the City Council, the land exchange process will begin in earnest. First, in the first phase, the city will exchange national and public property with the Incheon Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, and in the second phase, after 80% of all residents agree to relocate, four out of six relocation parcels will be exchanged first through a trust company. The remaining parcels will be exchanged sequentially thereafter.

However, the "Hangun and Yeonan Apartments Joint Relocation Association" must pay Incheon City 25.5 billion KRW as the exchange difference based on the appraisal results from November last year. Incheon City plans to utilize the remaining existing apartment sites after the collective relocation as cultural parks or office and commercial facilities.

Incheon City has been promoting the collective relocation of residents since 2006 due to repeated complaints of noise and dust damage from residents of Hangun and Yeonan Apartments.

However, due to significant differences in opinions between the Incheon Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office and apartment residents regarding the property exchange method, difficulties persisted for a long time until Incheon City proposed a phased exchange relocation plan using public property, which led to an agreement through mediation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in December 2021.

An official from Incheon City said, "Residents and related agencies have reached a difficult agreement on property exchange," adding, "Since residents have waited for a long time, we will do our best to ensure a smooth relocation."