Choi Hogwon, Yeongdeungpo District Mayor, Holds Communication Meeting with Residents on Mullae-dong Current Projects

On the 18th at 3 PM, the ‘Mullae-dong Current Project Resident Briefing’ was held at the Municipal Mullae Youth Center, introducing six current projects including the creation of a flower garden and the construction of Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center... "Shedding the image of Mullae-dong's iron dust-emitting metal workshops, it will become a symbolic space marking the start of change to ‘Young City Yeongdeungpo’"
Communicating at residents' level, creating a new ‘Garden City, Cultural City, Healthy & Healing City’ together with residents

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that on the 18th at 3 p.m., it held the ‘Mullae-dong Current Issues Resident Briefing Session’ at the Municipal Mullae Youth Center to communicate with residents about current projects in Mullae-dong and reflect their input in district administration.

This ‘Mullae-dong Current Issues Resident Briefing Session’ was organized for Mayor Choi Ho-kwon to meet directly with Mullae-dong residents to explain ongoing issues such as the creation of the Mullae-dong Flower Garden and the construction of the Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center, and to listen to residents’ suggestions.

This reflects a commitment to building a city of hope, happiness, and future based on consensus with residents on the front lines. It also reveals Mayor Choi Ho-kwon’s philosophy of raising the level of local autonomy through policy-making based on communication with residents and implementing district administration that maximally incorporates their opinions.

About 200 people, including local district council members, heads of professional organizations, and residents, gathered for the ‘Mullae-dong Current Issues Resident Briefing Session.’ Mayor Choi introduced six key projects: ▲Creation of the Mullae-dong Flower Garden ▲Construction of the Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center ▲Renovation of Mullae Neighborhood Park ▲Opening of the 2nd Redevelopment and Reconstruction Counseling Center ▲Improvement of public transportation conditions in Mullae-dong ▲Relocation of the Mullae-dong Machinery and Metal Complex. Afterwards, he listened to vivid opinions from residents and responded, fostering communication.

First, the district opened the briefing session by discussing the ‘Creation of the Mullae-dong Flower Garden,’ which opened last month. The large-scale urban flower garden spanning about 2,000 pyeong (approximately 6,600 square meters) marks the first step toward ‘Garden City Yeongdeungpo’ and is bringing new changes to Yeongdeungpo. The site had been blocked by tall barriers for over 23 years without proper use, causing frustration and continuous demands from residents for its removal. With funding support from Seoul City, the district created the garden on this site, transforming it into a fully open healing space for residents.

Next, the progress and future plans for the ‘Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center,’ to be built next to the Mullae-dong Flower Garden’s urban vegetable garden, were explained. The Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center will be a participatory open space where residents can easily experience culture and arts in daily life, featuring a 1,200-seat main theater, a 250-seat small multipurpose hall, exhibition rooms, activity facilities for local artists, and a swimming pool (50m, 8 lanes). This unique space, befitting Yeongdeungpo’s reputation as Seoul’s only ‘Cultural City,’ is expected to serve as a hub driving urban cultural competitiveness.

The ‘Renovation of Mullae Neighborhood Park,’ opened in 1986, was also introduced. The park will be enhanced with colorful themed gardens, sports and playground facilities, and a loess trail. Furthermore, plans were shared to develop the park into a regional attraction specialized in art, culture, rest, and experiential content by linking it with the nearby Mullae Creative Village.

Following this, the district explained the ‘2nd Redevelopment and Reconstruction Counseling Center’ located on the second floor of the Mokhwa Village Vitalization Center. Through tailored consultations and resident capacity-building education, the center aims to resolve questions about housing maintenance projects and promised to accelerate the progress of 73 redevelopment and reconstruction projects currently underway.

Efforts to improve the poor public transportation conditions in Mullae-dong were also mentioned, including the introduction and shortening of airport bus routes and the launch of customized commuter buses. Future plans such as ‘village bus route changes’ to alleviate bus usage inconveniences for Mullae-dong residents were also announced.

Finally, the briefing covered the ‘Relocation of the Mullae-dong Machinery and Metal Complex,’ which faces difficulties due to rising rents and industrial ecosystem collapse, as well as future development plans for the Mullae-dong area. After comprehensive reviews including feasibility studies and environmental analyses of candidate relocation sites, an appropriate location will be selected. Post-relocation, the plan is to attract future advanced 4th industrial revolution industries to the Mullae-dong Machinery and Metal Complex and develop Mullae-dong into a cutting-edge smart valley, transforming it into a completely new new-economy job hub.

After Mayor Choi Ho-kwon’s passionate explanation, residents offered encouragement and asked questions. They showed strong interest by urging swift progress on redevelopment and reconstruction, the long-awaited relocation of the Mullae-dong Machinery and Metal Complex, and the attraction of 4th industrial revolution industries.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “Mullae-dong has long been perceived as an old, deteriorated old downtown area densely packed with steel dust-emitting metal workshops. Along with major current projects such as the creation of the Mullae-dong Flower Garden, Mullae-dong will play a key role as a ‘symbolic space’ signaling the start of change in Yeongdeungpo and as a ‘young Yeongdeungpo, a new southwestern new-economy hub.’” He added, “Going forward, we will continue to communicate at the residents’ level and create Yeongdeungpo’s youthful transformation together with the residents.”