Suncheon-si Selected for Old Downtown Commercial Area Revitalization Project

80 Billion KRW Investment in Project Budget Over 5 Years Starting Next Year

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Nogwan-gyu) has been selected for the 2024 'Commercial District Revitalization Project.'

The project budget is 8 billion KRW, which will be invested annually over five years (3 years + 2 years) starting from 2024. The selected area this time is the original downtown area of Suncheon City, including Jungang-dong and Namnae-dong. It includes Jungang Market, the original downtown shopping district, and the underground shopping mall Sine Mall.

[Photo by Suncheon City]

The city plans to designate this area as a commercial district revitalization zone and promote projects such as creating food-specialized alleys, attracting young small business owners and facilitating business type transitions, digital transformation, and strengthening merchant capabilities.

The Commercial District Revitalization Project is selected based on the Special Act on the Promotion of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts. The criteria include areas where one or more markets or shopping districts are included, commercial zones cover more than 50%, there are more than 400 stores concentrated, and where sales, number of businesses, and population have consecutively declined over the past two years.

Starting this year, the project has been converted into a national balanced development special account project and is selected through a public contest process by Jeollanam-do and approved by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The original downtown of Suncheon City is where the Suncheonbu Eupseong site is located and has had a commercial district since the Joseon Dynasty.

Until the 1990s, it was the center of Suncheon, even called the "Myeongdong of Seoul." However, with the development of new towns, the entry of new distribution formats, and the increase in online sales, population decline and changes in consumption structure have led to a vacancy rate of 33% in commercial buildings recently, causing the entire downtown commercial district to decline.

Through the selection for this Commercial District Revitalization Project, the city plans to support small business owners in building competitiveness to become self-sustaining, turning the area into a vibrant and distinctive shopping district.

Accordingly, the city is proceeding with the designation process of the commercial district revitalization zone, a preliminary step to fully promote the project next year.

On the 22nd, a public hearing will be held at the Cheontaemansang Creative Center meeting room in Jungang-dong, and after hearing opinions from the council and other procedures, the city plans to apply for approval of the revitalization zone designation to Jeollanam-do in December.

Mayor Nogwan-gyu of Suncheon said, “We hope that this commercial district revitalization project will serve as an opportunity for citizens and young people to return to the original downtown, restoring vitality to the shopping district and the entire original downtown area.”

He added, “Commercial district revitalization cannot be achieved by administrative support alone; it cannot succeed without the participation of merchants and building owners, and changes among merchants are absolutely necessary.”

Suncheon = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Yeon-kyung hss79@asiae.co.kr