Gimpo Airport Area as a Mobility Industry Hub... Financial and Tax Incentives

Gimpo Airport Area Urban Regeneration Activation Plan
Passed Seoul Urban Regeneration Committee Review
"Reborn as a New Economic Hub in the Southwest Region"

The area around Gimpo Airport in Seoul will be transformed into an airport complex city that combines advanced industry development, job creation, and regional coexistence functions. Based on this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to develop this area into a new economic hub in the southwestern region.

Comprehensive Plan for Urban Regeneration Activation around Gimpo Airport, Seoul (Draft). Provided by Seoul City

On the 27th, the city announced that the 6th Urban Regeneration Committee approved the "Gimpo Airport Area Urban Regeneration Activation Plan" as originally proposed on the 26th. Since last October, the city has designated the area around 1373 Gonghang-dong, Gangseo-gu (1.07 million㎡) as the "Gimpo Airport Area Urban Regeneration Activation Zone" and has been establishing plans accordingly.

According to this urban regeneration activation plan, the city will designate the Gimpo Airport area as a "Mobility Industry Development Promotion District," providing financial support, tax benefits, and regulatory relaxation. By easing the initial investment burden on companies, it aims to attract advanced industries. In particular, it plans to build innovative support infrastructure to promote startups and youth entrepreneurship.

Additionally, the area will serve as an international business gateway supporting the international functions of Seoul's three downtown areas (Seoul downtown, Yeongdeungpo·Yeouido, Gangnam), while spatially and functionally linking with the Magok metropolitan center to develop a new growth industrial hub in the southwestern region connecting Gimpo Airport, Magok, Sangam, and Susaek.

Location map of the urban regeneration activation plan around Gimpo Airport, Seoul. Provided by Seoul City

This plan will be implemented in conjunction with the "Gimpo Airport Innovation District" project announced last September. At that time, the city designated a 354,000㎡ site in Gonghang-dong, Gangseo-gu, as an innovation district and revealed plans to expand Gimpo Airport into a mobility advanced industry cluster linked with new complex transfer facilities such as Urban Air Mobility (UAM) takeoff and landing sites and S-BRT (Super Bus Rapid Transit). The city plans to promote the project through four strategic implementation plans: ① Establishing a future new growth industrial hub, ② Creating an international and metropolitan transportation hub, ③ Expanding new growth innovation support infrastructure, and ④ Preparing regional coexistence measures, along with 16 detailed projects (7 in the innovation district and 9 in the surrounding district).

Kim Seung-won, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Balanced Development Headquarters, stated, "With the confirmation of the Gimpo Airport Area Urban Regeneration Activation Plan, the area is now prepared to be reborn as an economic vitality city centered on future transportation hubs such as UAM and advanced mobility industries." He added, "We will support the prompt promotion of urban regeneration projects to foster advanced mobility industries, create jobs, and establish a new economic hub in the southwestern region."