Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Hyunjae) held its October monthly meeting on the 24th at the city hall auditorium, where the city shared the results of its benchmarking visit to Singapore for establishing future urban development strategies, as well as key municipal achievements and current issues from the previous month.
Lee Hyun Jae, mayor of Hanam City, is holding the October monthly meeting on the 24th at the city hall auditorium and having a conversation with Professor Lee Kwan Ok from the National University of Singapore. Provided by Hanam City
In particular, under the theme "Development Directions for Hanam City's Future Leap: Can We Apply the Singaporean Model?", Professor Lee Gwankok from the National University of Singapore delivered a special lecture on Singapore's success stories and ways to apply them to Hanam City.
Professor Lee Gwankok, a faculty member at the National University of Singapore, which ranks eighth globally, is widely recognized as an international authority in urban policy and real estate. He has provided extensive consulting on housing, urban, and real estate convergence research and policies for organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Professor Lee explained that Singapore overcame urban hollowing-out issues not simply by building apartments or performance halls, but by pursuing mixed-use urban development that integrates workplaces, residences, and leisure spaces.
As a representative success case, he introduced Marina Bay Sands, emphasizing that since its opening in 2010, the number of tourists has surged by more than 20 percent year-on-year, and the surrounding area has seen a steady influx of financial institutions and residential complexes, leading to continuous growth for the entire city.
He also explained that, starting with the 'SSG Project,' Singapore has developed a 55,000-seat retractable national stadium, along with small- and medium-sized sports arenas and performance venues, enabling the city to host large-scale sports and cultural events. Additionally, Singapore is strengthening its large-scale cultural and sports infrastructure by promoting the 'Ns Square at Marina Bay,' a floating performance venue. Professor Lee highlighted that the expansion of such facilities has provided the foundation for attracting world-class performances and sporting events, thereby amplifying tourism and economic ripple effects.
Based on these examples, Professor Lee advised, "Hanam City should pursue mixed-use development that combines not only large-scale performance venues but also industrial, residential, and startup spaces."
Previously, in September, Professor Lee met with Mayor Lee Hyunjae during Hanam City's benchmarking visit to Singapore to provide consultation. By presenting specific strategies again at this monthly meeting, his benchmarking insights and on-site advice have been directly reflected in Hanam City's policy-making process.
On the same day, Mayor Lee Hyunjae shared with citizens the outcomes of the benchmarking trip to Singapore, which took place over four days from the 15th to the 18th. He particularly highlighted the remarkable success of Marina Bay Sands, noting that its cumulative number of visitors has surpassed 500 million.
Mayor Lee stated, "Although Singapore is a small city-state, it has become a world-class success story through efficient mixed-use development that integrates hotels, shopping malls, convention centers, and a variety of performance venues." He added, "The Singapore benchmarking experience and today's lecture by Professor Lee Gwankok provided a valuable opportunity to concretely envision Hanam City's future development direction and share an innovative vision." He further emphasized, "Based on this experience, Hanam City will take the lead in advancing urban development."
Meanwhile, the meeting was attended by officials from Hanam Urban Corporation, Hanam City Entrepreneurs Association, and the Korea Association of Realtors, all of whom are involved in Hanam City's urban development and planning work. In addition, representatives from companies, investment promotion, urban policy, and real estate sectors, as well as citizens working in these fields, participated to ask questions and discuss the city's development direction together.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
