Sejong City "Seeking Solutions to Commercial Vacancy through Expansion of Tourism Accommodation Facilities"

Sejong City is seeking to expand small-scale tourist accommodations as a solution to the problem of vacant commercial spaces.

According to Sejong City on the 28th, the vacancy rate of commercial spaces in the new town area of Sejong City is 30.2%, more than three times the national average of 9.4%. The high vacancy rate harms the cityscape and leads to side effects such as commercial district stagnation and regional economic deterioration, making urgent countermeasures necessary.

Conversely, the region has seen an increase in domestic and international visitors due to the expansion of tourism infrastructure such as Sejong Arboretum and Ieungdari Bridge, but there is a severe shortage of accommodations to host these visitors.

Furthermore, upcoming international events and the planned construction of the National Assembly building in the area are expected to further highlight the accommodation shortage, according to Sejong City's assessment.

Accordingly, Sejong City plans to encourage the establishment of hostels and small hotels with fewer than 30 rooms in the new town to simultaneously address the issues of vacant commercial spaces and accommodation shortages. This strategy involves expanding small-scale tourist accommodations by utilizing vacant commercial properties.

Currently, in the new town (Living Zones 1 to 3) managed by Sejong City, the development of tourist accommodations with 30 or more rooms is permitted on about 140 parcels of land.

Originally, small-scale tourist accommodations such as hostels and small hotels were also allowed in these areas, but since 2021, the refusal to approve changes of use for accommodation facilities in Boram-dong has led to restrictions on the locations of such facilities since last year.

In the case of Naseong-dong, although a leisure complex is planned in an unacquired area, Sejong City judges that early operation of accommodations utilizing this area is unlikely.

Therefore, in the short term, Sejong City plans to relax the permitted uses of commercial spaces in the new town to allow hostels and small hotels, and in the medium to long term, to consult with the Administrative City Construction Agency to activate accommodations in the leisure district at an early stage.

By expanding small-scale tourist accommodations using vacant commercial spaces, Sejong City expects to partially resolve the long-standing problem of vacant commercial properties.

However, tourist accommodations must obtain business plan approval and register as tourist hotels under the Tourism Promotion Act to operate legally.

For the same reason, Sejong City emphasized that general accommodations such as motels, which some residents worry about, cannot be established in the new town. The city also clearly stated that it will implement post-management measures such as inspections and administrative guidance to prevent improper or illegal operations by accommodation operators.

The areas where small-scale tourist accommodations are permitted are limited to central commercial districts planned for hotels, department stores, and leisure districts. Sejong City explained that location criteria will be established by comprehensively considering residential and educational environments as well as vacancy rates.

In fact, the conditions for small-scale tourist accommodations are expected to be set as commercial land with serious vacancy rates requiring commercial revitalization, located at least 100 meters from residential land and 200 meters from school land.

Currently, based on these criteria, Sejong City is reviewing candidate sites such as the area around Lake Park in Eojin-dong and the commercial area south of the government complex in Naseong-dong.

Conversely, the commercial area north of Naseong-dong and the tentatively named Meokja Alley were excluded from consideration because they are adjacent to residential areas and have relatively active commercial districts.

A Sejong City official said, “After finalizing the location plan for small-scale tourist accommodations, we will proceed with administrative procedures including gathering residents’ opinions, consulting related agencies, and reviewing by the Urban Planning Committee. The expansion of small-scale tourist accommodations in the new town will be pursued as a way to simultaneously solve the serious problems of vacant commercial spaces and insufficient accommodations.”