[Interview] Roh Hyun-song, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul: "The Integrated Government Building Will Mark a New 50 Years and Symbolize the Future City"

Even just 10 years ago, Gangseo-gu in Seoul was literally a 'borderland' (邊方), but in 2021, Gangseo-gu has become the representative city of the southwest area and one of the most dynamic cities in Seoul, taking a 'leap'... With the full-scale development centered on Magok District, it has risen as the leading city of the southwest area and a cutting-edge R&D city responsible for Korea's future.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “Over the past decade, Gangseo-gu has achieved innovative changes and development despite numerous challenges. Based on that capability and resilience, we will do our utmost to make Gangseo-gu achieve an even higher level of accomplishment.”

In an interview with this publication, Noh Hyun-song, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, expressed his reflections on the past district administration and his aspirations for the future.

Ten years ago, Gangseo-gu in Seoul was literally considered a ‘byunbang’ (邊方), meaning a peripheral area. However, by 2021, Gangseo-gu had become a representative city of the southwestern region and one of the most dynamic cities in Seoul. This was the result of major projects including the development of the Magok district bearing significant fruit. Mayor Noh said, “When I first took office, Gangseo-gu was recognized as part of Seoul but was underdeveloped and slow to progress. However, with the full-scale development centered around Magok, it has now risen as the representative city of the southwestern region and an advanced R&D city responsible for Korea’s future.”

In particular, Magok has created a new chapter in the region’s history with great interest from residents. Along with about 12,000 apartment units forming a forest of buildings, advanced companies such as LG, Kolon, and Lotte have moved in, giving it the appearance of a future city. Magok has become a pivotal city responsible for the current and future economic vitality of Seoul.

The local transportation environment is also improving. In addition to excellent transportation conditions where Subway Lines 9 and 5, the Airport Railroad, and the Gimpo Gold Line intersect, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently announced the 4th National Railroad Network Plan, confirming and officially announcing the ‘Daejang~Hongdae Line.’ Originally planned to connect Wonjong in Bucheon and Hongik University Station in Seoul, the metropolitan western area wide-area railroad project was finally confirmed to be extended to the Daejang New Town in Bucheon, providing a breakthrough to resolve a long-standing local wish.

Mayor Noh expressed, “I sincerely thank everyone who joined forces to resolve this long-standing issue. We will focus on ensuring that the remaining procedures proceed smoothly and do our best to start the project as early as possible.”

Along with the well-connected transportation conditions, the Gangseo-gu area has also grown as the center of industry, commerce, and leisure in the southwestern region. The Seoul Botanic Park, the largest in the southwestern region and twice the size of Yeouido Park, has become a landmark of Seoul, and the largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) complex in Seoul broke ground this year. The Space K art museum created by Kolon and the National Aviation Museum near Gimpo Airport have emerged as new leisure destinations.

In particular, Gangseo-gu’s major ongoing development projects include the CJ factory site’s office, commercial, and knowledge industry center complex development, and the creation of a southwestern future industry specialized district around Gimpo Airport, indicating that this steep growth trend is expected to continue.

Mayor Noh said, “I will do my utmost to ensure that regional development projects that will elevate the value of the area proceed without setbacks,” and cited the new government office building project as the main focus during the remainder of his term.

Since last year, Gangseo-gu has actively embarked on constructing a new government office building. This is because administrative demand has surged and the number of public officials has increased, bringing the current office building’s functions to a critical point. In particular, the office building, divided into seven locations including the main office, annex, and leased buildings, has been consistently criticized for causing inconvenience to civil complaints and inefficiency. Accordingly, the district planned to build a complex integrated government office building to meet various administrative service needs for residents.

Mayor Noh stated, “The integrated government office building of Gangseo-gu will be a dignified building befitting the status of the developed premium city of Gangseo, marking the start of a new 50 years and symbolizing the future city. The integrated government office building will be an open building communicating with residents, a cultural building, and furthermore, a landmark of Gangseo-gu. I will do my best to make this happen.” He added, “We are currently accelerating the preparation of the building construction plan based on the winning design of the integrated government office building. We will smoothly proceed with the phased plans and procedures so that the new office building can become a new growth engine leading the future development of Gangseo.”

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