Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Launches Public Contest for 1st Generation New Town Reconstruction Pilot Districts

Ilsan, Bundang, Jungdong, Pyeongchon, Sanbon are the corresponding areas

Embargo until 3 PM on the 22nd
Sangwoo Park, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is answering reporters' questions after announcing the plan to select the leading districts among the first-generation new towns (Bundang, Ilsan, Pyeongchon, Sanbon, Jungdong) at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. The briefing was attended by the First Deputy Governor of Gyeonggi Province, the mayors of Goyang, Seongnam, Anyang, Bucheon, Gunpo, and the president of LH. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 25th that the call for proposals for the first-generation new town pilot districts will commence. On the 27th, a consultative body between the Ministry and local governments of nationwide aging planned cities will also be launched. The consultative body will begin discussions related to the establishment of basic plans and the promotion of pilot districts for aging planned cities nationwide.

Each local government of the first-generation new towns will start the call for proposals for pilot districts on the 25th. The guidelines for each new town’s call for proposals will be announced on the respective local government websites on the same day. The applicable areas are Ilsan in Goyang City, Bundang in Seongnam City, Jungdong in Bucheon City, Pyeongchon in Anyang City, and Sanbon in Gunpo City. The guidelines include evaluation criteria for selecting pilot districts by new town, plans for special maintenance zones, and procedures and forms for obtaining consent. The call for proposals targets areas included in the special maintenance zones.

After the announcement on the 25th, there will be a three-month preparation period to secure consent rates, followed by a five-day application submission period from September 23 to 27. After evaluation in October, each local government will make the final selection of pilot districts for each new town in November.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and 23 local governments nationwide (10 metropolitan and 13 basic local governments) will form a consultative body between the Ministry and local governments to promote the ‘Aging Planned City Maintenance Project.’ The first meeting will be held on the afternoon of the 27th in Seoul. The 10 metropolitan cities are Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Ulsan, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, and Jeju. The 13 basic local governments are Suwon, Yongin, Ansan, Siheung, Uijeongbu, Hanam, Gwangmyeong, Guri, Changwon, Gimhae, Yangsan, Jeonju, and Gunsan.

Until now, the Ministry had operated a consultative body only for first-generation new town local governments. However, with the enforcement of the ‘Special Act on Maintenance and Support for Aging Planned Cities’ (hereinafter ‘Special Act’) since April, which clarifies the legal definition and requirements of aging planned cities, the consultative body will be expanded and operated for aging planned cities nationwide.

Since the enforcement of the Special Act, interest among residents in new town areas nationwide has increased through local government resident briefings and announcements of the first-generation new town pilot district selection plans. The Ministry conducted a demand survey targeting local governments of aging planned cities nationwide (June 10 to June 14) and established a separate consultative body from the existing first-generation new town local government consultative body. The participating local governments in the consultative body are those intending to establish basic plans for aging planned city maintenance in accordance with the Special Act.

Through the consultative body, the Ministry will provide advice at each stage of the local governments’ basic plan establishment projects. This aims to minimize trial and error during the establishment of basic plans and, once the basic plans are prepared, to conduct consulting to ensure consistency with the basic policies. Additionally, the consultative body will serve as a channel to collect and discuss regional opinions such as difficulties and suggestions encountered by local governments during the establishment of basic plans.

Based on the experience of operating the permanent consultative body for first-generation new towns, the Ministry plans to actively support aging planned cities nationwide to promptly initiate the pilot district selection procedures in line with the status of basic plan establishment.

To enhance residents’ understanding of maintenance projects, resident briefings and the opening of Future City Support Centers will also be promoted.

Jung Woo-jin, Director of the Urban Maintenance Planning Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, “According to the ‘First-generation New Town Pilot District Selection Plan’ announced on May 22, today each local government of the first-generation new towns has started the call for pilot district proposals. The Ministry will actively support all necessary matters for the call for proposals until the final selection of pilot districts by each local government in November.”

He added, “At the same time, since we have established a cooperative system with local governments of aging planned cities nationwide, we will actively collect regional opinions to reflect them in policies and support the prompt promotion of maintenance projects for aging planned cities nationwide.”