Daedeok District Office Relocation Site Expected to Become an Innovative Urban Regeneration Hub for Industry, Housing, and Culture
Total Investment of 204.1 Billion Won... Project Runs from 2026 to 2030
On December 19, Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon, announced during a city administration briefing, "Daedeok District has been finally selected as the national pilot zone with the largest scale of government funding among urban regeneration projects." He added, "Through this project, we will not only overcome the stagnation of the original downtown, which has been a challenge since the relocation of the government office, but also serve as a catalyst for revitalizing local businesses and restoring regional vitality."
This selection as a national pilot zone is the only one among metropolitan cities in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2025 urban regeneration project competition.
The Ojeong National Pilot Zone (Urban Regeneration Innovation District) covers an area of 13,702 square meters around the current Daedeok District Office site, with a total investment of 204.1 billion won, including 25 billion won in government funding. The project period is five years, from 2026 to 2030.
The national pilot zone will be operated as a convergence industrial cluster centered on an urban industrial base that connects design engineering and advanced root industries, where product design, prototype production, and technical consulting are conducted in a single space.
In addition, a platform will be established to connect more than 300 highly experienced science and technology professionals who retire annually in Daejeon with the root industries, aiming to resolve technical challenges and strengthen industrial competitiveness.
Efforts will also be made to improve residential conditions. Within the district, 156 units of communal housing for industrial workers and young people will be built, along with public parking lots, study rooms, sports facilities, and care centers as part of the living social overhead capital (SOC) infrastructure. Through this, the city aims to create an urban environment where work and life coexist in close proximity.
The project will proceed with the district designation in 2026, the business implementation plan in 2027, construction commencement in 2028, and is targeted to begin operation in 2031. Daejeon City plans to establish a governance system involving the public, private sector, industry, and academia to ensure the sustainability and operational stability of the project.
Mayor Lee Jangwoo stated, "Ojeong-dong will become a city where residential spaces and living SOC are integrated, and where jobs, settlement, and daily life are not separated." He added, "We will develop it into a new platform that serves as an economic hub and integrates the advanced technologies of the Daedeok Special Zone."
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