Yangju City Goes All-In to Attract "Let's Run Park"
Gwangseok District, a 350,000-pyeong Site, Deemed Optimal
50 Billion Won in Annual Tax Revenue and 3,000 New Jobs Expected
"Mega-Project" Kicks Off
Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province has formed a dedicated task force (TF) team and launched full-scale efforts to attract Let's Run Park, positioning it as a breakthrough turning point for balanced development in the western region in line with the government's move to relocate the Gwacheon Racecourse (Let's Run Park Seoul).
Yangju City announced on the 27th that it had urgently formed the "Gwacheon Racecourse Attraction TF Team" on the 26th, headed by Vice Mayor Kim Jeongil. The TF team consists of five divisions: the Overall Attraction Division, Strategy Support Division, External Cooperation Division, Public Relations Support Division, and Planning & Legal Division. It will operate as a practical cooperation system overseeing the entire attraction process, from securing the site to external cooperation and publicity.
The site Yangju City has put forward as a candidate is the "Gwangseok District" in the Gwangseok-ri area of Gwangjeok-myeon. The Gwangseok District covers approximately 1.17 million square meters (about 350,000 pyeong), which is very similar in size to the current Let's Run Park site in Gwacheon. In particular, Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), the project developer, has already completed land compensation, giving the site a significant advantage in terms of much faster project implementation compared to other candidate locations.
In addition, transportation infrastructure is being significantly improved, including the Seo-Yangju Interchange on the 2nd Capital Area Ring Expressway, the expansion of Local Route 39 (Jangheung-Gwangjeok), and the Seoul-Yangju Expressway. As a result, accessibility from Seoul and the southwestern part of the metropolitan area is also expected to improve dramatically.
If Let's Run Park is successfully attracted, the city expects it will be able to draw about 4.2 million tourists annually and create more than 3,000 new jobs each year. In particular, local tax revenues (such as leisure taxes) are expected to increase by more than 50 billion won per year, which is projected to play a decisive role in improving the city's fiscal self-reliance and revitalizing the western regional economy.
An official from Yangju City stated, "Attracting Let's Run Park is a mega-project that will redraw the map of the western region," stressing, "In particular, the Gwangseok District offers optimal location conditions in terms of securing a large-scale site and ease of project implementation."
The official added, "Through this attraction, we will elevate Yangju City into a hub of leisure and culture in northern Gyeonggi Province," and expressed strong determination by saying, "We will mobilize all available administrative capabilities to ensure we succeed in attracting it."
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