Paju City Holds 'LetsRun Park Seoul (Gwacheon Racecourse) Attraction' Signing Ceremony

Overcoming 70 Years of Restrictions:
Anticipating Compensation for Border Area Sacrifices and Local Economic Growth

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province held a "LetsRun Park Seoul (Gwacheon Racecourse) Attraction Signing Ceremony" on the 3rd floor of the Agricultural Science Education Center at the Paju Agricultural Technology Center on March 31.

Paju City held the "Let's Run Park Seoul (Gwacheon Racecourse) Attraction Signing Ceremony" on the 3rd floor of the Agricultural Science Education Center at Paju Agricultural Technology Center on the 31st. Provided by Paju City

The signing ceremony was attended by 17 guests, including Paju Mayor Kim Kyeongil, National Assembly member Park Jeong, and local city and provincial council members. National Assembly member Yoon Hu-deok, who could not be present at the event, expressed his support for the necessity of relocating and attracting LetsRun Park Seoul (Gwacheon Racecourse) by sending a separate signature sheet.

The relocation and attraction of the Gwacheon Racecourse became a major issue for Paju City after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the relocation of the Gwacheon Racecourse and a housing supply plan for the site on January 29. As a result, Paju City adopted the attraction of the racecourse park as a new strategic project.

Paju City emphasized that, considering the city has faced development restrictions such as military facility protection zones and various regulations for over 70 years as a border area, attracting large-scale national facilities is fully justified both as "special compensation for special sacrifices" in the border region and in terms of balanced national development.

The site under consideration by the city for the relocated racecourse is a 1.82 million square meter area of returned U.S. military land in Seonyu-ri, Munsan-eup. This national land has remained undeveloped for a long period. If the returned site is utilized, it is expected to maximize land use efficiency while minimizing additional forest destruction.

A Paju City official stated, "The Gwacheon Racecourse attracts more than 4 million visitors annually, generating significant tax revenue and creating thousands of jobs. If the racecourse park is relocated to Paju, it will not only revitalize the local economy but also help the northwestern part of the Seoul metropolitan area emerge as a new growth hub through the development of a multi-use space combining tourism, culture, and leisure."

Meanwhile, as of March 31, a total of 11,406 Paju citizens (4,452 online signatures and 6,954 offline signatures) had participated in the "LetsRun Park Seoul (Gwacheon Racecourse) Attraction" signing campaign. The campaign is scheduled to continue until April 3, and citizens can participate by signing online through the Paju City Hall website or by visiting administrative welfare centers in towns and neighborhoods within Paju City.

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