Nowon-gu Driver's License Test Center Confirmed to Relocate to Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu-si

Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok Signs Agreement on Joint Growth and Mutual Development Support with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Uijeongbu Mayor Ahn Byung-yong on the 22nd... Establishes Foundation for Attracting Seoul National University Hospital, a Key Anchor Facility of the Biomedical Cluster... Expected to Create 80,000 Jobs Following the Creation of Changdong-Sanggye New Economic Hub

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul City, Uijeongbu City, and Nowon District signed an "Agreement on Support for Mutual Growth and Win-Win Development" on the 22nd.

This agreement concretizes the basic agreement signed in March last year, defining the support matters among Seoul City, Uijeongbu City, and Nowon District, and serves as the final confirmation ceremony for relocating the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office to Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu City.

The specific matters include ▲relocation of the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office to Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu City ▲creation of resident convenience facilities around the relocation site near Jangam Station ▲sale of Seoul City's stake in the transfer parking lot site near Jangam Station for development purposes.

The Dobong Driver's License Examination Office in Sanggye-dong, which began operations in 1984, was located in the outskirts of Seoul at the time, but has now transformed into a central area with large apartment complexes, department stores, and major commercial facilities, intersected by subway lines 4 and 7, making it a double station area.

It also corresponds to the "Changdong-Sanggye New Economic Center," a northeastern new town development plan envisioned by Seoul City, making the relocation of the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office, an unsuitable facility for urban areas, a long-cherished project of Nowon District residents since 2005.

In December 2008, Nowon District submitted a petition signed by 430,000 residents demanding the relocation of the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office to the Police Agency's Driver's License Management Division (now the Road Traffic Authority), and held dozens of negotiations with the Police Agency and Road Traffic Authority, delivering resolutions urging relocation, but little progress was made due to the passive stance of the Road Traffic Authority.

Since 2013, Nowon District formed and operated a task force (TF) with related organizations including Seoul City, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Road Traffic Authority, and Nowon District to negotiate the relocation of the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office. They actively searched for relocation sites around Sinnae IC in Jungnang District, Byeollae in Namyangju City, Galmae Nursery in Guri City, areas near Nokcheon Station, and around Changpowon in Dobong District.

The breakthrough came when Nowon District proposed Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu City, an area previously designated as a greenbelt, as the optimal relocation site in 2016. Since then, numerous consultations were held with Seoul City, Uijeongbu City, Gyeonggi Province, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and LH Corporation, with continuous mediation between Seoul City and Uijeongbu City to narrow detailed differences among the agreement parties.

After taking office in 2018, District Mayor Oh Seung-rok held over ten meetings with Uijeongbu Mayor Ahn Byung-yong to seek solutions, personally visited Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to actively persuade and gain understanding for the necessity of relocating the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office to Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu City. He also collaborated with National Assembly members Woo Won-shik, Kim Sung-hwan, and Ko Yong-jin to actively explain the inevitability of the relocation to related agencies.

After these efforts, in March 2020, Seoul City, Uijeongbu City, and Nowon District signed a basic agreement for mutual growth and win-win development, marking the first step toward relocating the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office to Jangam-dong.

Even after the basic agreement, there were several moments when the signing of the support agreement was at risk of collapse due to differences between Seoul City and Uijeongbu City regarding greenbelt release quantities and detailed support for Uijeongbu City. However, consensus was reached within the broader framework of mutual growth and win-win development, resulting in the successful signing of this support agreement.

Nowon District will leverage this relocation agreement as a stepping stone to actively promote the "Regenerative Bio Advanced Medical Technology Complex" through attracting Seoul National University Hospital, a large-scale project critical to Nowon's 100-year future. This marks a transition from a bedroom town to a self-sufficient city focused on job creation in the bio complex.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok stated, "The great achievement of signing the support agreement is the result of Seoul City and Uijeongbu City understanding each other's positions and making mutual concessions," adding, "We will develop a biomedical cluster centered on Seoul National University Hospital on approximately 75,000 pyeong of land including the Dobong Driver's License Examination Office and Changdong Vehicle Base, actively attracting world-leading pharmaceutical companies and medical research institutions, creating about 80,000 quality jobs, and propelling Nowon District into a self-sufficient economic city."

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