Hwaseong City: "Dongtan 2 Logistics Center Permit to Proceed with Strict Review, Prioritizing Citizen Safety"

"Difficult to Reject Without Objective Grounds"
City States Complete Withdrawal Demanded by Osan Is Not Possible

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province has announced that it may further reduce the size of the large-scale logistics center planned for Dongtan 2 District. However, the city made it clear that it cannot accept Osan City's demand for a complete withdrawal of the project.

On November 3, Hwaseong City stated in a press release, "Regarding the construction of a logistics facility in Dongtan 2 District being pursued by a private operator, we will prioritize the safety of citizens and establish measures for traffic and the environment, conducting a strict administrative review."

This project involves a private operator building a large logistics center with four underground floors and seven above-ground floors, totaling a gross floor area of 406,149 square meters, on Distribution Site 3 in Dongtan 2 District, Jangji-dong 1131. This is larger than the Daegu Logistics Center of Coupang, which is currently the largest single logistics center in Korea at 330,000 square meters.

A city official explained, "We have continuously supplemented measures for reducing the scale and improving traffic safety, taking into account traffic capacity, safety, and urban landscape," adding, "We will consider further area reductions if necessary during the remaining permitting process."

Previously, when the operator first proposed the project in July last year, the logistics center's gross floor area was 625,371 square meters. This was reduced to 517,969 square meters in November of the same year, and further adjusted to 406,159 square meters during Gyeonggi Province's traffic impact assessment in May this year. This represents a 35% reduction from the original plan. As a result, the building's traffic volume was also reduced by 26%.

Any additional reduction in the project's scale is expected to occur during the review by the city's Urban Architecture Joint Committee and the building permit process. The city added, "If the project fails to pass the relevant review procedures, we will immediately consider administrative actions such as requesting a reassessment."

However, the city drew a line regarding Osan City's call for a "complete withdrawal" of the project. The reason is that when an operator proposes an urban management plan that meets the legal requirements, the city is obligated to process it and has limited administrative discretion, making it difficult to reject the proposal without objective grounds.

The city stated, "Administrative actions that disregard legal procedures could instead lead to legal disputes such as lawsuits," and added, "We are seeking ways to reflect residents' opinions as much as possible within the boundaries of law and principle."

In addition, the city said that, if necessary, it will transparently disclose the entire process of the consultative body currently operated with participation from the private sector, government, and local assembly.

Jung Myunggeun, Mayor of Hwaseong City, said, "We fully recognize citizens' concerns about the construction of a large logistics facility," adding, "We will review all possible options within the legal process to minimize local impact and work together with citizens to find a reasonable solution."

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