Hanam City Completes Water Pollution Prevention Plan for K-Star World Project
Visible Progress in Lifting Green Belt Restrictions and Creating a National Garden
Reimagining the Entire Misa Island as "K-Culture + Greenland"
On July 28, Lee Hyunjae, Mayor of Hanam, received a report on the progress of the K-Star World development project during the weekly Monday meeting and urged that the project proceed without delay, stating, "We will develop it into the premier tourist destination in the Seoul metropolitan area."
Mayor Lee expressed his gratitude, saying, "I deeply appreciate the dedication of the staff in establishing measures to prevent water pollution sources and advancing the project," and emphasized, "We must regularly share updates on the project's progress with both public officials and citizens to broaden consensus."
Hanam City actively submitted a proposal to the Central Regulatory Reform Committee (chaired by the Prime Minister) to lift the Green Belt (GB) restriction, which is a key prerequisite for the K-Star World project. As a result, a new provision was established stating that "even in water quality grades 1 or 2 areas, the GB restriction can be lifted if a management plan for water pollution sources is established." (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport GB Lifting Guidelines 3-2-1(2) Subsection B, revised in July 2023)
Accordingly, Hanam City reported that it had established a water pollution source management plan, completed prior consultations with the Ministry of Environment, submitted the plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in April 2025, and received review comments in June, thus fulfilling the key requirements for lifting the GB restriction.
Beginning with a National Assembly forum on K-Star World in November 2022, the final report for the "Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a K-Culture Cluster in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Utilizing Private Capital"?which was carried out with a 300 million won research budget allocated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism?was completed in April of this year.
Hanam City proposed, in accordance with Gyeonggi Province's public notice, to ease the rental housing ratio requirement in the GB lifting guidelines from the existing 50% to 35%, leading to an agreement on the basic principle. The city announced that the Gyeonggi Province guidelines are expected to be revised soon.
Hanam City is also expediting specific administrative procedures, such as reaching a basic agreement with the Ministry of Environment on changes to the management plan for abandoned riverbed land related to the K-Star World project. In addition, the city is actively consulting with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism regarding the use of the warming-up arena, and preparations such as drafting the competition guidelines are underway in earnest, with the goal of holding a public competition for private operators in the second half of 2025.
Meanwhile, Mayor Lee stated that, in connection with President Lee Jaemyung's national garden pledge, the city is also considering a plan to create a national garden on approximately 890,000 square meters of Dangjeongseom and riverside land, in conjunction with the K-Star World project.
Through this, Hanam City envisions developing the entire Misa Island area, together with K-Star World, into a leading integrated tourism and cultural complex in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Mayor Lee said, "I am grateful to the staff for their efforts in completing the water pollution source prevention measures for the K-Star World development project," and added, "It is necessary to regularly share the project's progress with public officials and citizens to broaden consensus."
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