"Neighboring City Unilaterally Bears Traffic Burden Due to Massive Logistics Center"
The controversy surrounding the construction of a large-scale logistics center in the Dongtan 2 district of Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, is showing signs of escalating into a conflict between local governments. This comes as the neighboring city of Osan has officially demanded the cancellation of the project.
Lee Kwonjae, Mayor of Osan. Mayor Lee has officially demanded the cancellation of the Dongtan 2 logistics center construction in Hwaseong City, signaling the potential for conflict between local governments. Provided by Osan City
On May 21, Lee Kwonjae, Mayor of Osan, issued a statement demanding that Hwaseong City "immediately scrap the plan for a massive logistics warehouse that is being pushed forward unilaterally without proper countermeasures."
Mayor Lee argued, "The planned site for the logistics center is already congested with vehicles traveling through Osan to destinations such as Yongin, Anseong, and Pyeongtaek," and added, "By 2030, it is predicted that approximately 17,000 vehicles will pass through daily, which could turn Osan into a traffic nightmare in the future."
He further stated, "The traffic inconvenience that citizens are already experiencing is at a serious level, and it is absolutely unacceptable for a neighboring city to unilaterally shift the traffic burden onto us."
The city plans to strongly express this position at the Gyeonggi Province Traffic Impact Assessment Review Committee meeting scheduled for May 22.
The logistics center at the center of the controversy is located at Distribution Site 3 in Dongtan 2 New Town, around 1131 Jangji-dong, Hwaseong City. The site covers an area of 89,272 square meters and had remained unsold for over 10 years since the creation of the new town, until F&N Dongtan Jeilcha Co., Ltd. purchased it in March last year.
F&N Dongtan Jeilcha submitted a proposal to Hwaseong City last year to construct a logistics facility with six underground floors and 20 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 625,371 square meters. Of this, the warehouse space alone accounts for 517,481 square meters. Even just considering the warehouse space, this is 1.6 times larger than the current largest logistics center in Korea, Coupang's Daegu Advanced Logistics Center (330,000 square meters).
As news of the construction plan spread, nearby residents in Dongtan 2 New Town formed an emergency committee and have been continuously demanding the withdrawal of the logistics center plan. With Osan City now also calling for the cancellation of the permits, the controversy surrounding the logistics center is intensifying.
However, Hwaseong City maintains that, since the logistics center is being built in accordance with legal standards regarding land use, floor area ratio, and building coverage ratio, it cannot reject the relevant permits.
Some observers are concerned that the conflict between the two local governments could escalate further. This is because Osan City emphasized in its statement that this issue is one of "coexistence and cooperation between regions." In fact, Osan City highlighted that it has continuously cooperated with Hwaseong City to expand essential infrastructure, such as jointly establishing a sewage treatment plant, and reminded that since 2008, it has been processing 36,000 tons of sewage and wastewater generated daily in the Hwaseong Dongtan area.
Mayor Lee stated, "Unilateral development without discussion and consultation is absolutely unacceptable," and added, "The province and Hwaseong City must recognize the problems with this plan and completely cancel the development of the massive logistics center."
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