What Is the Reason for Seongdong-gu's Job Growth for 5 Consecutive Years?

Seongdong-gu Demonstrates 'Regional Economic Growth' Following Record High Growth Rate in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP)... Various Policy Effects Emerge, Highlighting New Industry Growth Aligned with the 4th Industrial Revolution

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The scale of jobs managed by Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) has shown continuous growth for five consecutive years.

Previously, Seongdong-gu's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth rate was the highest among Seoul's autonomous districts (7.0%, based on 2018), and this recent analysis once again demonstrates Seongdong-gu's economic growth.

According to the '2019 Business Survey Report' (hereafter 'the Report') released by Seoul City in March this year, a total of 28,343 businesses in Seongdong-gu employ 178,243 workers.

A notable point is the increase rate of workers compared to 2014.

Compared to 2014, the number of businesses in Seongdong-gu increased by 2,629, creating 25,412 new jobs. Converted, the worker increase rate compared to 2014 is 16.6%, a double-digit figure, which is 6.3 percentage points higher than the overall Seoul City worker increase rate of 10.3% during the same period.

The employment insurance subscriber statistics from the Korea Employment Information Service also confirm the job growth trend in Seongdong-gu. Until 2016, the number of insured workers in Seongdong-gu was below the average of Seoul's 25 autonomous districts, but in 2017, it surpassed the Seoul average (166,941) by recording 168,779, and has since exceeded the Seoul average every year.

The nature of businesses within the region has also noticeably changed. Traditionally, Seongdong-gu was known as an area dominated by manufacturing, but over the past five years, there has been remarkable expansion in 'professional, scientific, and technical services' such as research and development and intellectual property (IP) brokerage, as well as 'information and communication' businesses like game software development and e-commerce services.

According to the Report, 772 new professional, scientific, and technical service businesses were established, creating 7,543 jobs (a 6.0% increase), and 284 new information and communication businesses generated a remarkable 4,728 new jobs (a 3.2% increase).

This background is interpreted as being rooted in Seongdong-gu's urban regeneration policies aimed at revitalizing the city. Seongsu-dong, a representative successful case of urban regeneration, has regained vitality from a semi-industrial area to being called the 'Brooklyn of Korea.' It has become a cultural and artistic hub housing large entertainment agencies like SM Entertainment and a center for youth innovation and challenge. As companies seek young talent, there is a movement to relocate to Seongsu-dong, with Musinsa, Krafton, and II Combined scheduled to move in following Hyundai Glovis.

Along with this, Seongdong-gu's active efforts to attract companies with new growth engines and create a 'business-friendly environment' cannot be overlooked.

So far, Seongdong-gu has implemented various support policies to attract knowledge industry centers, mainly in the Seongsu-dong area, including relaxed floor area ratio regulations and reductions of 50% in acquisition tax and 37.5% in property tax. As a result, the number of knowledge industry centers in Seongdong-gu has significantly increased from 36 centers (housing 2,226 companies) in 2014 to 63 centers (housing 5,160 companies) as of 2021.

Additionally, Seongdong-gu has implemented a one-stop service that drastically shortens the building use approval process from up to one month to five days from application to approval, and has continuously carried out differentiated policies such as support for small and medium-sized enterprise development funds, market expansion, and overseas branch support.

In particular, according to the district unit plan of the 'Seongsu IT Industry and Distribution Development Promotion District' decided and announced on the 14th, regulations on floor area ratio and maximum height are relaxed up to 1.2 times when introducing advanced industries such as IT and R&D. Among Seoul's semi-industrial areas, the 'Seongsu IT Industry and Distribution Development Promotion District' is the only area where such maximum relaxation of floor area ratio and height has been applied, which is expected to effectively attract advanced industry companies and further promote large-scale high-density development.

As a result, Seongsu-dong has become a central hub of the regional economy with 63 knowledge industry centers and about 20 shared offices, and 44.5% of all businesses in the district are concentrated in the four administrative neighborhoods of the Seongsu area.

Moreover, Seongdong-gu is also focusing on the 218,000㎡ 'Wangsimni Metropolitan Center District Unit Planning Area' around Wangsimni Station, which had relatively slow activation despite excellent location conditions. The district has started a reorganization project for the district unit plan to transform the Wangsimni Station area into a new growth center in northeastern Seoul as a complex hub for residential, commercial, business, and cultural functions.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "Statistical analysis confirmed that institutional support for the local economy and job activation in Seongdong-gu over the past eight years has led to actual job creation. We will continue to do our best to ensure that Seongdong-gu firmly establishes itself as a business-friendly city and a city where work and life develop harmoniously through policies considering local characteristics and external environmental changes."

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