64% of Citizens Say "Development Profits from Gangnam Area Should Be Shared Equally Across Seoul"

Seoul City Conducts Survey of 2,000 on 'Public Contribution Fund Usage Scope'
Calls for Amendment of Current Law to Prevent 'Exclusive Control by Respective Districts'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] More than six out of ten Seoul citizens, including those in the Gangnam area, believe that real estate development profits should be used evenly not only in the respective districts but throughout the entire city of Seoul.

According to a telephone survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on 2,000 Seoul citizens aged 18 and older on the 7th and 8th, 64.3% of respondents answered that "public contribution fees generated from development projects should be used across the entire city of Seoul, considering balanced development," the city announced on the 9th. Only 31% believed that "public contribution fees should be used only within the respective autonomous district."

Public contribution fees are charges paid by developers to compensate for damages such as traffic and noise experienced by local residents due to large-scale development projects. Under current law, public contribution fees are limited to use only within the respective autonomous district. Recently, Mayor Park Won-soon has argued that the development profits from Hyundai Motor's Global Business Center (GBC) to be built in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, should be used for balanced development between Gangnam and Gangbuk, and has requested the government to amend related laws.

In this survey, among residents living in the three Gangnam districts (Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, Songpa-gu) (326 respondents), opinions were evenly split at 47.4% each between those who believe the fees should be used throughout Seoul and those who believe they should be used only within their district.

Regarding the proposal to amend current laws to expand the use of public contribution fees to "all of Seoul," 72.9% of all respondents agreed, while only 22.3% disagreed.

Regarding the necessity of amending current laws for the regionalization of development profits, 54.8% of residents in the three Gangnam districts agreed. Among them, 40.6% disagreed with the need for legal amendments.

As for the priority areas for utilizing public contribution fees, preferences were evenly distributed with "improvement of welfare and medical facilities" at 37.3%, "improvement of traffic infrastructure such as easing downtown congestion" at 29.6%, and "improvement of aging urban facilities to strengthen urban competitiveness" at 28.9%.

Mayor Park said, "The high public support for the regionalization of development profits shows citizens' desire for balanced development between Gangnam and Gangbuk," and added, "I once again urge the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to make a progressive decision to utilize the development profits from the three Gangnam districts for the balanced development of the entire city of Seoul through the prompt amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning Act."

This survey was commissioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Global Research Co., Ltd., with a sample reliability of ±2.2% at a 95% confidence level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.