Mapo District Residents' Recreation Center 'From Construction to Lease' Operation Plan Changed

"Ensuring Fairness and Objectivity in Site Selection"
Changing Operation Method to Allow Resident Use from Next Year
Mapo District Mayor: "Promoting a Resort Facility Accessible to All Residents Without Burden"

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) announced on October 23 that, following an emergency policy meeting, it will change the planned construction method of the "Mapo-gu Residents' Recreation Center" scheduled to begin next year to a lease operation method.

The district explained that the background for changing the operation plan was the indiscriminate spread of various false facts after some parties raised groundless allegations of preferential treatment regarding the selection of the recreation center site and launched political attacks.

Until now, the district had planned to establish a camping facility by 2025 where any Mapo-gu resident could enjoy rest at about 40% of the market price.

In particular, during the previous mayor’s term, there was an attempt to build a residents' recreation center including a convention hall in Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk Province, but concerns such as the excessive project cost of 38.7 billion KRW, low accessibility, and conflicts of interest related to the then mayor’s hometown led to its withdrawal once. Therefore, Mapo-gu has prioritized fairness, objectivity, and transparency above all in selecting the site this time.

To this end, the district formed a dedicated team for the recreation center construction and, since early this year, requested site recommendations from seven sister cities including Namhae-gun, Gochang-gun, and Ongjin-gun, while also conducting a nationwide public contest, receiving a total of nine recommended sites.

Mapo-gu Office Building

Subsequently, through deliberations by the Recreation Center Site Selection Committee composed of 12 members including Mapo-gu council members and architecture and real estate experts, five criteria?accessibility, ease of development, site environment, cost-effectiveness, and potential for development?were evaluated, and Ongjin-gun, Incheon Metropolitan City was selected as the final site.

The selected site was recommended as a suitable location for the recreation center by the sister city Ongjin-gun. Ongjin-gun planned to provide various administrative supports such as simplifying related consultations and permit procedures to ensure the project could proceed swiftly so that Mapo-gu residents could quickly benefit.

Additionally, to prevent excessive land acquisition costs, the district transparently proceeded with related procedures such as land purchase at a price equal to half of the combined appraisal value determined by appraisal firms selected by both the seller and the district.

The plan was also to create a recreation center where residents could heal in nature by establishing camping facilities including a glamping site, as well as sports facilities such as a soccer field, swimming pool, badminton court, and tennis court, rather than just constructing buildings.

Despite these facts, the district expressed concern over the spread of baseless rumors about the site selection and stated that this decision was made to resolve unnecessary division and conflict.

Going forward, the district will gather residents’ opinions and reconsider detailed matters such as the location and usage methods of the recreation center, taking accessibility and convenience into account, and will promptly proceed to enable residents to use the center starting next year after enacting relevant ordinances.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “The more difficult the economy, the more necessary it is to have healing facilities that any resident can use without burden,” adding, “Mapo-gu will continue to make every effort to discover and implement policies that can improve the quality of life and happiness of its residents.”

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