"Smooth Sailing Mokdong Reconstruction, Current Transportation Infrastructure Cannot Handle It"

Interview - 'Urban Engineering Expert' Lee Gi-jae, Yangcheon District Mayor
Over 50,000 Households to be Built in Mokdong from 2033
Concerns Over Severely Insufficient Transportation Infrastructure
Subway Extension and Vehicle Depot Relocation Planned

Many residents know that Lee Gijae, the mayor of Yangcheon District Office in Seoul, has a hobby of running. But it is not just casual running. He has completed 19 marathons, with a personal best time in the 3-hour 20-minute range. Even now, he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every day, runs about 10 km, and then goes to work.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Lee Gi-jae said in an interview on the 3rd, "In preparation for the surge in population and traffic demand due to large-scale developments such as the Mokdong reconstruction, the expansion of transportation infrastructure must be carried out." Provided by Yangcheon-gu.

Less well known is that Mayor Lee is an urban engineering expert. He majored in civil engineering and earned a master's degree in urban planning and a doctorate in urban engineering. Perhaps because of this, he has demonstrated skill in resolving Mokdong reconstruction, the district’s biggest issue.

When I met Mayor Lee in his office at Yangcheon District Office on the 3rd, he said, "In the past two and a half years since taking office, we have put major long-standing projects that were at a standstill back on track and laid the foundation for Yangcheon’s 100-year future city. Now, we must focus on expanding public infrastructure such as transportation networks in preparation for the future city in step with the accelerating reconstruction and redevelopment, and we must definitely expand the insufficient subway transportation network."

Proposing a Controversial Donation Solution as an Alternative to Open Green Spaces

The Mokdong apartment reconstruction project has gained momentum, with redevelopment plans for 7 out of 14 complexes taking concrete shape, and the long-standing issue of floor area ratio increases for Mokdong complexes 1, 2, and 3 has been resolved. Among Mokdong complexes 1 to 14 (22,629 households), the fastest reconstruction is underway in Complex 6, which can begin construction in 2029 once management disposition approval is granted in 2027. Starting with Complex 6, a series of reconstructions will proceed, and from 2033, Mokdong will have about 50,000 households in apartments up to 49 stories high.

In particular, Mayor Lee placed great significance on resolving the highly sensitive public contribution (donation) issue in recent reconstruction projects related to the floor area ratio increase for Mokdong complexes 1, 2, and 3 by creating the "Mokdong Greenway" (open green space).

Mayor Lee explained, "The Mokdong Greenway is a plan to surround the apartment complexes with a vast green belt instead of providing additional buildings or land as a donation for the increased floor area ratio due to the floor area ratio increase. It proposes a way to garden the city and activate the waterfront space connected to Anyangcheon, satisfying both the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the licensing authority, and the residents."

"Extension of Sinjeong Branch Line and Relocation of Sinjeong Vehicle Depot Must Be Reflected in Legal Plans"

Major development projects such as mini-new town-level reconstruction and redevelopment, the development of the Western Truck Terminal urban high-tech logistics complex, and integrated development around Mokdong Stadium and retention basin will soon enter the construction phase. However, concerns remain about the severely insufficient transportation infrastructure behind the smooth progress of these projects.

Yangcheon District has a population of 432,000, with many commuting to the city center, but there are only six subway stations serving the entire district. Sinwol-dong, home to 120,000 people, has not a single subway station.

Yangcheon-gu is an area where railway transportation is underdeveloped relative to its population size. There is not a single subway station in Sinwol-dong, which has a population of 120,000.

Therefore, Mayor Lee is jointly promoting a project with Gimpo City to extend the subway line 2 Sinjeong branch line 2.4 km from its terminus at Kkachisan Station to Sinwol Intersection, Gimpo Airport, and towards Gimpo. If the Sinjeong vehicle depot is relocated, it will improve the living environment and enable development in the area suffering double damage from airport noise.

Mayor Lee said, "We submitted related plans to Seoul City last month so that the ‘Line 2 Sinjeong Branch Line Gimpo Extension and Sinjeong Vehicle Depot Relocation Project’ can be reflected in the 5th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan to be created by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the first half of this year. It must be included in the higher-level legal plan to realize the project at the conceptual stage, so we have devoted effort over the past two years."

He recalled the disappointment of the Mokdong Line and Gangbuk Transversal Line light rail projects failing the preliminary feasibility study last year. Mayor Lee said, “To ensure balanced development of Sinwol-dong, a railway transportation desert, and to prepare for the explosive increase in population and transportation demand due to large-scale developments such as Mokdong reconstruction, transportation infrastructure expansion must be achieved. We will work with Seoul City and mobilize all administrative power to restructure the project, including route adjustments, changes in project methods, and timing adjustments to secure economic feasibility.”

Mayor Lee identified realistic support measures for airport noise-affected areas, expansion of the nationwide Y Education Expo, strengthening the characteristics of the education city, and enhancement of customized welfare services as key projects to focus on this year.