Yongin City Makes All-Out Efforts to Secure Economic Feasibility for Complex Culture Center on Unused Seongbok-dong Site

Mayor Lee Meets with Seongbok-dong Residents
Residents Request Construction of Complex Culture and Sports Center
Mayor Lee: "Exploring Various Ways to Enhance Economic Feasibility"

Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Sangil) has begun a study to enhance the business feasibility of the long-awaited 'Complex Culture, Sports and Welfare Center' project for residents of Seongbok-dong, Suji-gu, seeking ways to make the project a reality.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin Special City, explained the construction of the Seongbok-dong Complex Culture, Sports and Welfare Center in Suji-gu to local residents on the 17th. Provided by Yongin City

On April 18, Yongin Special City announced that, on the previous day, Mayor Lee Sangil met with nine local residents, including representatives from the residents' council of Seongdong Village LG Village 1st Apartment, who had submitted a collective petition demanding the construction of the center in the area of 177 Seongbok-dong, to discuss the current issues.

The site in question has been left unused for a long period after a plan to build a special school by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in 2014 was scrapped due to opposition from local residents. Since then, residents have strongly requested the construction of a complex facility that integrates cultural and sports facilities, a youth culture center, and a welfare center by submitting a petition with signatures to the city.

After Mayor Lee Sangil took office, in December 2022, Yongin Special City changed the designation of the land from a school site to a public office and cultural facility site, thereby blocking indiscriminate private development and paving the way for public development.

The biggest obstacle to advancing the project is securing business profitability (B/C). The feasibility study conducted by the Local Administration Research Institute, in accordance with the Seongbok-dong Complex Culture Center construction plan established in September 2023, concluded that the project lacks economic feasibility, putting the brakes on the initiative.

Yongin Special City has requested the Yongin Policy Research Institute to conduct research by June 2025 on ways to improve the project's economic viability.

The city plans to closely review the research results from the Policy Research Institute—covering resident demand analysis, case studies on improving economic feasibility, and revenue-generating strategies—to strengthen the drive for project implementation.

Lee Sangil, Mayor of Yongin Special City, is explaining the construction of the Seongbok-dong Complex Cultural, Sports, and Welfare Center in Suji District to local residents on the 17th. Provided by Yongin City

Mayor Lee Sangil stated, "Of the 13 parcels of land at the Seongbok-dong site, 11 are privately owned, so the cost of land compensation is extremely high, making it difficult to achieve economic feasibility. This is why the Local Administration Research Institute has put a brake on the project. The Yongin Policy Research Institute is currently researching ways to improve economic feasibility for the construction of the Complex Culture, Sports and Welfare Center, and the city is exploring various ways to realize the project through communication with the research institute."

He went on to explain, "The city has devoted considerable effort to expanding daily infrastructure for citizens, such as the Mir Human Center, libraries, welfare centers, and youth culture centers. Based on the judgment that it is desirable to build an excellent facility for citizens in Seongbok-dong as well, we changed the designation of the site to a public office and cultural facility in December 2022."

He added, "We will make every effort to secure sufficient finances by steadily advancing key projects for Yongin's development, such as the National Semiconductor Industrial Complex, and to further expand investment in facilities for citizens."

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