Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Finalizes Selection of Daejeon Urban Convergence Special Zone Project Area

Creation of High-Density Innovation Spaces in Daejeon Old Downtown Area

Location map of Daejeon business district.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 10th that it has finally selected the candidate site for the Daejeon Urban Convergence Special Zone proposed by Daejeon Metropolitan City as the project district.

The Urban Convergence Special Zone is a project promoted through inter-ministerial collaboration involving the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Balanced Development Committee, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. In particular, it is a project to create a high-density innovation space with excellent complex infrastructure such as industry, housing, and culture by concentrating development and corporate support so that companies and talents can gather in the downtown areas of major local cities (five metropolitan cities). This is part of a new national balanced development policy.

Since announcing the Urban Convergence Special Zone creation plan in September last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport selected the project districts for the Urban Convergence Special Zones in Daegu and Gwangju in December. Daegu and Gwangju are preparing to start the basic planning.

The newly selected Daejeon Urban Convergence Special Zone project district (approximately 1.24 million m2) consists of two adjacent areas (1.7 km apart): the area around KTX Daejeon Station and the site of the relocated Chungnam Provincial Government Office. It is located in the original downtown area with excellent urban transportation (Daejeon Subway Line 1, etc.), metropolitan transportation (KTX Daejeon Station) infrastructure, and living infrastructure such as culture and commerce.

The area around KTX Daejeon Station (approximately 1.03 million m2) includes the region that Daejeon City is planning to develop as an innovation city, so it is expected to have synergistic effects in connection with Korea Railroad Corporation and Korea Rail Network Authority currently located within the project district.

Also, the area around the relocated Chungnam Provincial Government Office (approximately 210,000 m2) is located close to national and public lands such as the Central Police Station with a confirmed relocation plan, the Daejeon Tax Office site, and the Daejeon Jung-gu Office site with a confirmed renewal project, so it is evaluated to have high potential for utilization as an Urban Convergence Special Zone.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Daejeon Metropolitan City plan to conduct detailed consultations on the utilization plan of the site with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Jung-gu Office, and others during the basic planning process for the Urban Convergence Special Zone.

Daejeon City plans to start establishing the basic plan for the Urban Convergence Special Zone within the first half of this year, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will support the basic planning budget (300 million KRW).

Among the five major metropolitan cities, besides Daegu, Gwangju, and Daejeon, which have already been selected, consultations are underway with Busan and Ulsan to review appropriate candidate areas, and support will be provided to complete the selection of project districts as soon as possible.

Baek Won-guk, Director of Land Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “The Daejeon Urban Convergence Special Zone is expected to create a new balanced development business model as various projects such as innovation city and urban regeneration can converge with the original downtown area as a backdrop.” He added, “Going forward, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will strive to ensure that the Urban Convergence Special Zone acts as a momentum for a rebound that pioneers new avenues for the regional economy through collaboration with government ministries and local governments.”

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