Project Executor Fails to Meet June 21 Deadline, Proposal Rejected
Gimpo City Pursues Simultaneous Greenbelt Lifting and Urban Development District Designation
Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 25th that it has rejected the 'Gimpo Gochon District Complex Development Project' due to the expiration of the grace period for the application of private participant selection. The city had received the total quota for lifting the greenbelt from Gyeonggi Province in February this year, and the project executor had completed the proposals for urban development district designation and supplementary submissions in April and June, respectively.
The project executor was required to complete the designation of the urban development district by June 21, 2025, in accordance with the amended Urban Development Act. However, as the procedures for lifting the greenbelt and designating the urban development district were not completed within the deadline, the proposal was ultimately rejected.
The Gimpo Gochon District Complex Development Project began with a call for private participants in 2018. However, due to changes in the guidelines for establishing metropolitan urban plans in 2021, the city had to focus on securing the reallocation of the greenbelt lifting quota. Since 2021, Gimpo City has been actively negotiating to secure this quota and finally succeeded in obtaining support from Gyeonggi Province in February this year.
However, due to amendments to the Urban Development Act in 2021, which strengthened the methods for selecting private participants, the designation of the urban development district had to be completed by June 21, 2025. Although the project executor submitted the proposal for district designation and supplementary documents in April and June, there was not enough time to carry out subsequent procedures such as the public notice for resident viewing and review by the Central Urban Planning Committee. As a result, the proposal for district designation was ultimately rejected.
In response to some claims that the designation of the urban development district could have been carried out under the authority of the Mayor of Gimpo prior to the lifting of the greenbelt, a Gimpo City official stated, "Such claims directly contradict the purpose of the Greenbelt Act. The lifting of the greenbelt must precede the designation of the urban development district. As a public institution, we have made all-out efforts to shorten the process within the legal framework, including pursuing the lifting of the greenbelt and the district designation simultaneously. Distorted media reports and the dissemination of false information based on incorrect interpretations can undermine administrative trust and cause confusion among residents, so we plan to respond actively."
According to Gimpo Urban Management Corporation, there are currently no confirmed future plans for the Gimpo Gochon District Complex Development Project, and the situation will be reviewed carefully moving forward.
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