"Isn't This for the 2024 General Election?"... New Town Residents Angry Over Delayed Reconstruction

Delay in Master Plan Timing Causes 2-Year Gap Before Implementation
Concerns Arise Over Possible Postponement to Next Administration
Dissatisfaction Grows Due to Lack of Specific Details

President Yoon Seok-yeol visiting the first-generation new town (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] As the Yoon Seok-yeol administration announced its first real estate supply plan, residents of new towns expressed disappointment. This is because there are no concrete details on reconstruction promotion, and the master plan implementation has been postponed to 2024, making it effectively a policy aimed at winning public favor ahead of the general election.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the "Plan to Realize National Housing Stability," stating that it plans to promote urban redevelopment at the level of urban recreation for the first-generation new towns. Since first-generation new towns such as Bundang and Ilsan, which have reached 30 years since occupancy, have clusters of aging complexes, a comprehensive urban redevelopment plan including residential environment improvement, expansion of metropolitan transportation, and infrastructure is necessary. To this end, the ministry plans to start a research project in the second half of this year and establish a master plan for new town redevelopment by 2024.

However, residents of the first-generation new towns could not hide their disappointment over the government's postponement of the master plan timeline. There will be nearly a two-year gap before promotion begins, and there is a risk that the project may not start before the current administration's term ends and could be pushed to the next administration. Additionally, there were criticisms regarding the lack of concrete details on reconstruction promotion. Lee Jong-seok, Vice President of the New Town Reconstruction Association, emphasized, "If this continues, we will waste two years without establishing any concrete plans for reconstruction," adding, "Reconstruction promotion requires swift progress as there are many hurdles to overcome after the master plan, such as the basic urban plan."

Concerns were also raised about the fact that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, rather than local governments, is the entity releasing the master plan. Since local governments are more familiar with the characteristics and traffic conditions of their areas, they can better accommodate residents' demands and expedite project progress. Vice President Lee argued, "If the voices of existing residents are not sufficiently reflected, discord is inevitable from the start."

Discontent with the master plan is spreading among new town residents as well. In an online chat room of a reconstruction complex in Bundang, a resident lamented, "Isn't this just a postponement to two years later to reuse it for the 2024 general election?" and "It’s frustrating to see vague policies with no substance being used for political purposes." Kim Chang-gyu, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Integrated Reconstruction of Four Complexes in Hugok Village, said, "Among residents, concerns are growing that they cannot just wait indefinitely for a master plan whose contents may change again at any time," adding, "There are even opinions that if the Democratic Party executes the master plan as early as next year, they would support it."

Meanwhile, criticism continues that the redevelopment project plan announced that day falls short of expectations. The government announced that it would adjust the structural safety evaluation weight to a reasonable level, citing examples of 30-40%. However, there are concerns that the actual safety diagnosis results will be similar to the current level. A resident living in Ilsan said, "Reducing the structural safety weight from the current 50% by about 10-20% does not make the safety diagnosis smoother," adding, "We need to lower the structural safety weight to 20% as before 2018 and enable a two-track safety diagnosis process."

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