Daegu City Council member Lim Inhwan (People Power Party, Jung-gu 1) announced on the 24th that he had urged the city to devise measures to revitalize the Dongseongno Tourism Special Zone through a written administrative inquiry.
Lim Inhwan stated, "Since Dongseongno was designated as a Tourism Special Zone on July 22 last year, Daegu citizens' expectations for a revival of tourism, which had stagnated after COVID-19, have grown."
He continued, "As a comprehensive policy for the revitalization of Dongseongno, Daegu's representative commercial district, the city has been implementing the 'Dongseongno Renaissance Project' since 2023. Currently, 12 projects in four sectors (culture and tourism, commercial district, transportation, and space) are underway. However, in the culture and tourism sector, there is a lack of policy changes that citizens can actually feel as a result of the special zone designation."
Lim Inhwan added, "With the designation as a tourism special zone, there are various special provisions such as support projects through the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, relaxation of outdoor advertising regulations, relaxation of the Road Traffic Act, relaxation of regulations on open spaces, and the possibility of permitting casino operations. Since the 'Daegu Tourism Promotion Ordinance' was amended at the end of last year, a legal basis has been established to implement tourism policies targeting foreigners in open spaces. Therefore, policies targeting foreign tourists should be promoted as soon as possible."
He further pointed out, "Currently, Daegu has one five-star hotel with a foreigner-only casino in operation," and asked about the specific requirements under the Tourism Promotion Act and Daegu City's future plans for attracting a new foreigner-only casino within the Dongseongno Tourism Special Zone.
Additionally, he requested Daegu City's response regarding plans for youth busking at the 2.28 Memorial Central Park urban lawn plaza, strategies to create a tourist attraction by benchmarking the Red Road in the Hongdae Tourism Special Zone in Mapo, Seoul, and whether there are any specialized projects linked to Daegu Youth Week as part of the Dongseongno Renaissance Project. The Red Road is a tourism-specialized street that combines safety, culture, tourism, and nature, connecting the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, Danginri Power Plant, Hangang River, and Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine. Since the creation of the Red Road, the commercial area has expanded, and various cultural and artistic events and festivals have become concentrated there, resulting in an increase in the number of foreign visitors from 30,000 to 130,000, more than quadrupling.
In conclusion, Lim Inhwan said, "In 2025, Jung-gu Office in Daegu announced 39 new projects under five key strategies to attract more tourists, build tourism content and infrastructure, and promote tourism marketing in the Dongseongno Tourism Special Zone." He emphasized, "For the successful revitalization of the Dongseongno Tourism Special Zone, not only the efforts of the Jung-gu Office but also active financial and administrative support from Daegu City are necessary, and close cooperation with the Jung-gu Office is essential."
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