Yangsan City to Promote Mulgeum-eup Mulgeum District New Village Project Application... Up to 15 Billion Won in National Funding

Aged Low-rise Residential Area in Dongbuseobu Village, Mulgeum

Yangsan City, Gyeongnam, is set to compete for the New Village Project, which offers up to 15 billion KRW in national funding.

The target area is the old low-rise residential district in the Dongbu-Seobu Village of Mulgeum. This area is considered the most underdeveloped part of the Mulgeum New Town. In the past, it was the center of Mulgeum, home to the Mulgeum Town Office, Mulgeum Police Station, and Hwangsan Market. Today, however, around 900 mostly elderly households remain, preserving their hometown while spending their later years in aging low-rise homes.

The New Village Project, which has emerged as a new paradigm for urban regeneration, aims to provide living infrastructure such as parking lots, safety, and convenience facilities to low-rise residential buildings like old single-family homes and villas, offering a residential environment comparable to apartments. At the same time, it provides incentives such as financial loans and relaxed urban building regulations to encourage voluntary private-sector redevelopment.

The national government will provide up to 15 billion KRW per project district for the installation of basic convenience facilities. The project also allows for direct linkage between housing construction projects and shared facilities by utilizing housing maintenance areas and adjacent vacant houses or public land.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will accept candidate sites until the 8th of next month and plans to select around 30 sites within the year. Accordingly, Yangsan City plans to gather residents' opinions by the 26th, following a public hearing on the 24th, and then submit an application for the New Village Project to the Ministry.

An official from Yangsan City stated, "Since the New Village Project application guidelines were released at the end of August, there is not much time left. Although it is possible to apply with just a proposal, without a public hearing or an urban regeneration activation plan, we intend to differentiate ourselves from other cities by holding this public hearing and completing the urban regeneration activation plan to ensure a thorough application for the New Village Project."