Ministry of Justice Signs Implementation Agreement with Daejeon Metropolitan City and Korea Housing Corporation for Daejeon Prison Relocation and Reconstruction

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye is taking a commemorative photo with officials at the agreement ceremony for the relocation project of Daejeon Prison. Photo by Ministry of Justice

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 24th, the Ministry of Justice signed an agreement with Daejeon Metropolitan City and Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) for the relocation project of Daejeon Prison.

On the afternoon of the same day, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye signed the "Agreement on the Relocation, Reconstruction, and Redevelopment Project of Daejeon Correctional Facility" at the Daejeon Metropolitan City conference room with Mayor Heo Tae-jeong of Daejeon Metropolitan City and Kim Hyun-jun, President of Korea Land & Housing Corporation.

The Daejeon Prison relocation project is being promoted as a entrusted development project of national property, in which LH constructs the new prison and covers the construction costs with profits from developing the existing site.

Following the selection of the relocation site in 2017, the signing of a business agreement in 2018, designation as a leading national property land development project in 2019, and several rounds of tripartite (Ministry of Justice - Daejeon Metropolitan City - LH) working-level consultations until November last year, a plan to resolve the project's financial imbalance was derived.

The Ministry of Justice stated, "This business agreement was prepared to finalize the discussions of the working-level consultative body so far and to promote the full-scale relocation, reconstruction, and redevelopment project of the Daejeon correctional facility through the establishment of an organic cooperative system for future work."

Minister Park said, "The Ministry of Justice actively cooperated with LH’s smooth project promotion by reducing the site area of the new correctional facility from the original plan and allowing prior use of some national land for the priority development of the current prison site. We also expect that the construction will begin soon through active cooperation with Daejeon Metropolitan City in future project procedures."

Mayor Heo said, "The relocation of Daejeon Prison is a long-standing wish and hope of Daejeon citizens and is expected to become a new growth engine for Daejeon along with the third phase development of Doan District. Our city will also actively cooperate to ensure the smooth progress of the relocation project."

President Kim said, "LH will actively utilize its accumulated development know-how over many years to ensure the smooth construction of the new correctional facility and will do its best to create synergy effects for balanced regional development by linking with the Doan Phase 3 development project."

The Ministry of Justice stated, "Taking this agreement ceremony as an opportunity, we will do our best to ensure that the Daejeon correctional facility, where the human rights of inmates are respected and which coexists with local residents, can be established as soon as possible."

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