Pocheon City Completes Deregulation of Sajik Hot Spring Source Protection Zone and Seondan Hot Spring Public Protection Area

Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Young-hyun) announced on the 18th that it has officially lifted the protection zones of Sajik Oncheonwon and Seondan Oncheongong on the 15th.

Pocheon City Hall exterior. Provided by Pocheon City

The Sajik Oncheonwon Protection Zone is a 300,000㎡ area where development was delayed for a long time due to financial difficulties after the hot spring discovery report by Ildong Sulfur Hot Spring Co., Ltd. in 1990.

The city canceled the hot spring discovery report approval in February this year, applied to Gyeonggi Province for lifting the protection zone in March, and completed the final announcement on the 15th of this month.

Also, on the 5th of this month, the city abolished a district unit planning zone covering 226,500㎡, which had long faced complaints from residents due to property rights infringement and building restrictions, resolving the long-standing inconvenience for landowners and residents.

The Seondan Oncheongong Protection Zone is an area where development had not been carried out for several years after the hot spring discovery report by Geonhwa Co., Ltd. in 2016, and efforts to lift the protection have been underway. The city completed the final announcement of the lifting on the 14th after public hearings in April and collecting residents’ opinions in September.

A Pocheon city official said, “The lifting of the Sajik Oncheonwon and Seondan Oncheongong protection zones is an active administrative measure by the city to protect the property rights of residents in long undeveloped hot spring areas and to promote new development projects. Pocheon City will continue to do its best in managing hot springs, including restoring canceled hot spring facilities to their original state.”