Victory in Administrative Lawsuit Over Sangam-dong Incineration Plant Construction Through United Efforts With Mapo Residents
Completion of Registration for 1,164-Unit Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment After 10 Years, Enabling Exercise of Property Rights Worth 1.56 Trillion KRW and Receiving Great Applause From Residents
Submission of Resident Petition for Relocation of Hapjeong-dong Military Base
Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, is a ‘problem solver’ who never yields to complaints involving the pain of local residents and pushes forward relentlessly.
Since his inauguration, he has received applause for his bold actions in resolving long-standing concerns of residents, including the issue of the expansion of the incineration plant in Sangam-dong that has persisted for over 10 years.
Recently, he also delivered a petition urging the government to relocate the military base located in Hapjeong-dong, which has been hindering regional development, together with the residents.
Victory in Administrative Litigation Over Construction of Sangam-dong Waste Incineration Plant
Mapo District warmly welcomed the ruling by the 11th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court on the 10th of last month, which ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit requesting the cancellation of the notice on the decision of the location for the metropolitan resource recovery facility.
This lawsuit was filed by 1,850 Mapo residents against the metropolitan resource recovery facility location decision announced by Seoul City on August 31, 2023, and the court sided with the residents of Mapo. Mayor Park Gang-su stated regarding the ruling, “This is a victory for the incineration reduction policy that Mapo District and its residents have continuously advocated for, and the court made a rational judgment against the unilateral and unreasonable decision to locate the incineration plant.”
Seoul City unilaterally announced Sangam-dong in Mapo District as the candidate site for a new 1,000-ton incineration plant in preparation for the ban on landfill of waste starting in 2026, claiming that installing an additional incineration plant was the only alternative.
However, Mapo District has clearly opposed this, presenting fundamental solutions to the waste problem against Seoul City’s unilateral administration.
The district conducted research at the whole district office level centered on the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) Task Force team, continuously demanding Seoul City to address ▲the unfairness in the incineration plant site selection process ▲propose alternatives through recycling facilities ▲introduce advanced recycling policies ▲improve issues in resource recovery facility operations ▲realize realistic pricing of volume-based waste bags ▲resolve soil contamination issues.
Prioritizing the safety and health of residents, the district strongly opposed Seoul City’s unilateral push for the incineration plant construction. In particular, on November 4, 2024, the district formed the ‘Policy Advisory Group Against Additional Incineration Plant Construction’ and demanded supplementation of inappropriate or omitted content in Seoul City’s draft environmental impact assessment based on expert advice.
Through this, the district reiterated the unfairness of pushing forward the incineration plant construction and responded using all means together with the residents. Mayor Park Gang-su said, “Instead of forcibly proceeding with the construction of the Mapo incineration plant, which is fraught with procedural flaws and unfairness, priority should be given to improving processing performance through modernization of the current four metropolitan resource recovery facilities and actual waste reduction through recycling. Seoul City should now heed Mapo’s incineration plant solution,” expressing strong determination.
Completion of Registration for 1,164-Unit Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment in Mapo After 10 Years of Non-Registration, Enabling Exercise of Property Rights Worth 1.56 Trillion KRW
Mapo District (Mayor Park Gang-su) completed the registration of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment, which had completed the relocation notice last year, on January 21.
By resolving the long-standing issue of the residents of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment, which had been unregistered for about 10 years, Mapo District was able to bring good news to residents from the new year of 2025, the Year of Eulsa.
Until now, due to the lack of relocation notice and registration procedures, the 1,164 households of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment faced restrictions on loans from financial institutions. Exercising property rights worth approximately 1.56 trillion KRW as of the end of 2023, estimated by Mapo District, was difficult.
Mapo District judged that this could not be simply regarded as a legal issue between the association and residents, and from February 2023, held a coexistence committee to resolve the problem, directly mediating meetings between the parties led by Mayor Park Gang-su.
Thanks to Mapo District’s persistent mediation, in November 2023, an agreement was reached between two of the three landowners who had not agreed and the association.
Subsequently, in October 2024, following the decision of the Seoul Regional Land Expropriation Committee regarding compensation, which had been difficult to narrow down, the association completed the expropriation of all land within the project area. Accordingly, Mapo District promptly completed the relocation notice on December 19, 2024, to ensure swift registration.
Afterward, in early January this year, Mapo District quickly created the building ledger for Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment so that the related redevelopment maintenance project association could file for preservation registration.
Thanks to Mapo District’s swift administrative measures, Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment reached a historic moment by completing registration on January 21, 2025, less than two months after completing the relocation notice.
An association official said, “From agreement to expropriation decision and relocation notice, all these processes proceeded quickly thanks to Mapo District’s active administrative support,” and expressed sincere gratitude for wiping away the grievances of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment residents.
Mayor Park Gang-su said, “It is very meaningful to finally resolve the 10-year-old wish of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartment residents, and I hope this moment will be remembered as a historic moment bringing great joy to the residents,” adding, “Mapo District will continue to spare no administrative support for reconstruction and redevelopment projects where everyone can coexist.”
Military Base in Hapjeong-dong Hinders Regional Development... Petition for Relocation Submitted to Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission
There have been concerns that the military base in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo District, is hindering regional development.
Accordingly, on the afternoon of the 4th, Mapo District submitted a petition signed by 14,272 residents urging the relocation of the Hapjeong-dong military base to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
On that day, Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo District and about 30 people including resident representatives personally visited the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to deliver grievances and strongly emphasize the necessity of relocating the Hapjeong-dong military base.
The area around Hapjeong-dong 450-9 and 12 other parcels is adjacent to the Han River, offering excellent location conditions, but development has been stalled for a long time due to the military base, leaving it as a long-standing resident demand.
The military base relocation project began with the formation of the Hapjeong-dong Residents’ Council in 2009, but despite Mapo District’s delivery of residents’ requests and consultations with the Ministry of National Defense, no agreement was reached on relocating the military facility, and the project lost momentum after 2018.
In response, Mapo District plans to accelerate efforts once again to relocate the military base that blocks Mapo’s growth potential and urban competitiveness, so that the space, which has not been opened as a security facility, can return to the residents.
To relocate the Hapjeong-dong military base, Mapo District formed a public-private cooperation task force consisting of district officials and local residents in September 2024 and began full-scale activities from October.
Subsequently, to realize the relocation of the military base by gathering community strength, a signature campaign was conducted targeting residents of Hapjeong-dong and six neighboring districts where the military base is located.
As a result, by January 31, 2025, a total of 14,272 residents participated in the signature campaign. Notably, in Hapjeong-dong, 4,129 residents, more than 25% of the 16,098 population, signed, showing strong support.
Mapo District plans to use the submission of this petition as a driving force to lead the relocation of the Hapjeong-dong military base through public-private cooperation and to revitalize the local economy and improve residents’ welfare by developing idle land linked to the Han River and introducing resident-friendly facilities.
Mayor Park Gang-su said, “While Mapo has achieved remarkable development in many areas, the area near the military base has faced development restrictions, causing difficulties for residents, which is very regrettable,” adding, “Mapo District will implement administration that enables coexistence and mutual growth through continuous cooperation not only with local residents but also with the military.” He emphasized, “I will focus administrative power with the belief that if the relocation of the Hapjeong-dong military base remains only a discussion, there will be no opportunity other than now.”
The passion and perseverance of Mayor Park Gang-su, who regards the pain of residents as his own and strives to solve problems by any means, are gradually bearing fruit, earning great applause from the residents.
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