Seoul City Unveils 5-Year Balanced Development Plan... Fostering Strategic Projects by Region

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] On the 1st, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has established a five-year balanced development plan aimed at fostering strategic projects by five regions and expanding living infrastructure to reduce regional disparities and promote distinctive development.

The announced balanced development plan is designed to consistently implement various balanced development policies of Seoul, which had been pursued individually, within a comprehensive framework. According to related ordinances, the plan must be established every five years, and this time it includes specific execution strategies for 2022?2026.

First, the city plans to foster strategic projects by region to establish a self-sufficient job base.

By region, the Northwest area will create industrial and job hubs centered around station areas such as Sangam and Eunpyeong Innovation Park. The Southwest area will utilize underused sites around Gimpo Airport and the former Noryangjin Fish Market to build a foundation for startups and research and development (R&D). The Northeast area will focus on developing central cities around Changdong and Sanggye and transportation hubs, while the Southeast area will be developed as an international business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) hub. The downtown area plans to create a green ecological city and foster downtown industries and international business.

Regions with weak self-sufficient bases will expand commercial areas to revitalize business districts. Campus town valleys linking universities and startups will also be established by region. The Northeast area will build an innovation industry valley by connecting universities with the Hongneung Bio Cluster, the Southwest area will develop a technology startup valley centered on Gwanak S Valley, and the Northwest area plans to create a startup base around the Sinchon area.

Living SOC (Social Overhead Capital) will also be expanded. For national and public daycare centers, priority support will be given to non-Gangnam districts with below-average utilization rates, and the proportion of national and public daycare centers among all daycare facilities will be expanded to 50% by 2025. Additionally, 400 Seoul-style kids cafes will be established preferentially in districts without public indoor playgrounds.

Furthermore, to eliminate transportation disparities between regions, an urban railway network will be built focusing on areas underserved by urban rail. Projects will proceed starting with lines that have passed preliminary feasibility studies and other procedures for the completion of the 2nd urban railway network. The Gangbyeonbuk-ro, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Dongbu Expressway will be moved underground. Housing supply will also be expanded through rapid integrated maintenance projects, Moa Town, and public housing utilizing private land.

In addition, to provide equal educational opportunities, the online platform "Seoul Learn" will be expanded, the Seoul Citizens University Southwest Campus will be enlarged, and a municipal youth music center will be constructed.

To enhance execution capability, Seoul will develop balanced development indicators to measure regional imbalances and publish monitoring results in a citizen report. A balanced development policy coordination system (tentatively named Balanced Development Impact Assessment System) will also be piloted to pre-assess the impact on regional balance when establishing major policies and plans.

Along with this, following last year’s revision of the National Land Planning Act, which expanded the scope of public contribution funds from the relevant district to the entire Seoul area, reasonable methods and standards will be prepared to utilize part of the public contribution funds collected from large-scale public developments in relatively underdeveloped areas.

Yeo Jang-kwon, head of Seoul’s Balanced Development Headquarters, said, "If regional imbalances persist and accumulate, it will hinder the growth of the entire city. Although it is difficult to correct regional imbalances in a short period, through the establishment of this balanced development plan, we will make balanced development the top priority of the entire city administration and create tangible changes in citizens’ lives throughout Seoul."

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