Mayor Baek Gyeong-hyeon: "Topyeong 2 Public Housing District to be Developed as a Job-Live-Play Complex City"

Guri City Announces Position on Urgent Appeal Regarding Topyeong 2 District
New Designation of Industrial Areas Not Permitted in Overconcentration Control Zones under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act
Guri City Making Multifaceted Efforts to Secure Industrial Area Quotas

Guri City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun) announced its position on the urgent appeal issued by former Guri Mayor Park Young-soon at the Guri City Council on the 12th.

Baek Kyung-hyun, Mayor of Guri (center), attending the National Assembly forum on July 10 last year regarding the Overcrowding Control Zone. Provided by Guri City.

On that day, former Mayor Park claimed in his appeal that the attraction of an urban high-tech industrial complex to the Topyeong 2 District along the Han River in Guri is necessary, stating, “The urban high-tech industrial complex can be designated not only in industrial areas but also in quasi-residential areas. There is a case where an urban high-tech industrial complex was established in a quasi-residential area of about 150,000㎡ in the Dongtan 2 New Town in Hwaseong. If industrial area quotas are needed within the overconcentration control zone, Gyeonggi Province can allocate a portion of the total quota within the province to Guri Topyeong. If it is not designated as an urban high-tech industrial complex, the ‘Guri Topyeong 2 Public Housing District Project’ will degenerate into a bedroom community.”

In response, Guri City stated, “According to Article 7 of the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act (Restrictions on Activities in Overconcentration Control Zones), new designation of industrial areas in overconcentration control zones is not allowed, and the industrial areas defined by the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act include urban high-tech industrial complexes under the Act on the Promotion of Industrial Sites and Development.” They argued that the claim that the establishment of an urban high-tech industrial complex in the quasi-residential area within the urban support facility site of the Guri Topyeong 2 Public Housing District is legally possible is not true.

They also said, “The Hwaseong Dongtan 2 Land Development Project and Namyangju Wangsuk Public Housing District, which former Mayor Park cited as examples, belong to ‘growth management zones’ with relatively fewer regulations, so applying the same method to the Topyeong 2 District, which is an ‘overconcentration control zone,’ is inappropriate.”

Furthermore, they refuted, “The concern that if the ‘urban high-tech industrial complex’ is not designated in the Topyeong 2 Public Housing District, only knowledge industry centers will occupy the urban support facility site in Topyeong 2 District, leading to vacancies and a decline in self-sufficiency functions, turning it into a bedroom community, is not true.”

A Guri City official explained, “Permitted uses in the urban support facility site include conference halls, exhibition halls, educational institutes and research centers, office facilities, and commercial facilities, and various facilities can be established to secure the city’s self-sufficiency functions, create jobs, and revitalize the urban economy. For example, in the urban support facility site within the Godeok Gangil Public Housing District (Godeok Biz Valley), the area is mainly developed with commercial and office facilities, and there is only one knowledge industry center. Also, Pangyo 1st Techno Valley, Pangyo 3rd Techno Valley, and Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town have not been designated as separate industrial complexes.”

Meanwhile, Guri City has been continuously consulting with relevant departments of Gyeonggi Province to secure industrial area quotas and has held consultations twice with Gyeonggi Province this year.

Additionally, at the ‘Capital Region Regulation Improvement (Relaxation) Regional Meetings’ held in July last year, Guri City reported that being designated as an overconcentration control zone limits benefits such as tax and charge reductions, making it practically difficult to attract companies and leading to stagnation in urban development. The city is seeking solutions to various regulations, including proposing partial adjustment (relaxation) of the overconcentration control zone for the creation of high-tech industrial complexes, regional balanced development, and economic revitalization.

Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun of Guri said, “The Topyeong 2 Public Housing District has excellent location conditions in terms of transportation and geography, giving it an advantage in attracting companies compared to other areas.” He added, “We will do our best to develop the Topyeong 2 Public Housing District into a mixed-use city with essential urban functions such as commercial and office facilities, revitalizing the local economy and creating jobs.”