'Launching in July Next Year' Temporary Office for Incheon Yeongjong·Geomdan-gu Decided... 2-Group·9-District System

Adjustment Grant Rate for 9 Autonomous Districts Raised from 20% to 22.3%

The temporary government offices for Yeongjong-gu and Geomdan-gu, which will be newly launched in July next year due to the administrative reorganization of Incheon, have been decided. The city also decided to increase the adjustment grants for autonomous districts, which will increase from the current 8 to 9 in line with the reorganization schedule.

On the 18th, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok held a press conference at City Hall to explain the preparation status for the launch of the autonomous districts, including these details. Present at the event were Kim Jeong-heon, Mayor of Jung-gu, Kim Chan-jin, Mayor of Dong-gu, and Kang Beom-seok, Mayor of Seo-gu.

Yeongjong-gu Office plans to lease and use 8 floors (14,287㎡) of a 10-story private building scheduled for completion in April in Yeongjong Sky City. The current Jung-gu Second Office on Yeongjong Island, which was considered as a candidate site for the temporary district office, will be utilized by expanding the health center functions to strengthen regional public healthcare.

Geomdan-gu Office will receive a free lease of land in Dangha-dong owned by Incheon Urban Corporation (iH) and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and build a three-story modular building (18,000㎡) to use. Construction can be completed before the launch, and with the police station and fire station nearby, it offers advantages such as improved convenience for residents and excellent office and parking environments.

A modular building refers to a structure whose framework, finishing materials, and mechanical components are standardized and completed in a factory, then transported to the site for assembly and installation.

The city plans for Yeongjong-gu and Geomdan-gu to use temporary district offices first, but considering that it takes at least 4 to 6 years to build official government buildings, it will determine the site through feasibility studies and resident consultations this year and proceed with administrative procedures including investment reviews from next year.

Jemulpo-gu, which merges the existing inland Jung-gu and Dong-gu, can utilize the current Jung-gu and Dong-gu offices, so the direction for building a new government office will be decided mid- to long-term in connection with projects such as the Jemulpo Renaissance Project and the Dongincheon Station transit-oriented urban development.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is holding a press briefing on the 18th in the city hall briefing room regarding the preparation status for the launch of autonomous districts following the reorganization of the Incheon-type administrative system. Photo by Incheon City

Meanwhile, the city decided to raise the adjustment grant allocation rate for the autonomous districts, which will increase from 8 to 9 in line with the administrative reorganization in July next year, from the current 20% to 22.3%, which is higher than the national metropolitan city average (22.03%).

The adjustment grant is a fund that the city allocates to autonomous districts considering their difficult financial situations, based on seven types of ordinary taxes (acquisition tax, leisure tax, tobacco consumption tax, resident tax, local income tax, automobile tax, local consumption tax) at a fixed allocation rate.

The increase in the adjustment grant allocation rate for autonomous districts, finalized through the city ordinance amendment process, will be applied from the second half of next year. The city also plans to provide additional special adjustment grants within 10 billion KRW annually for three years to the reorganized autonomous districts expected to experience a sharp increase in financial demand.

The "Act on the Establishment of Jemulpo-gu, Yeongjong-gu, and Geomdan-gu in Incheon," passed by the National Assembly and promulgated in January last year, will be enforced from July 1 next year, when the 9th popularly elected term begins. Accordingly, Incheon's administrative system will expand from the 2 counties and 8 districts maintained since 1995 to 2 counties and 9 districts with one additional autonomous district.

Mayor Yoo said, "The Incheon-type administrative reorganization is an important milestone leading the new changes of Incheon, which is leaping toward a world-class city, and will serve as a catalyst for tailored development and future growth in each region. The city and the three districts will cooperate and devote all efforts to prepare for the launch so that it becomes a leading innovative model case led by local governments."

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