Changwon Mayoral Candidate Myung-sang Kang: "Establish Changwon Urban Development Corporation to Return Development Profits to Citizens"

Myung-sang Kang, a preliminary candidate for mayor of Changwon Special City from the Reform New Party, has pledged to establish a public development system that returns urban development profits in Changwon to its citizens.

On April 29, Kang held a press conference at the city hall press center, stating, "About 660,000 square meters of developable space in downtown Changwon should be managed directly by the public sector, and the development profits must be returned to the citizens."

To achieve this, he proposed the establishment of the Changwon Urban Development Corporation and the enactment of an ordinance for the Changwon City Public Development Profit Citizen Reinvestment Fund.

He emphasized, "There are large-scale development sites in downtown Changwon, including the Hyundai Rotem high-speed test track, the agricultural and marine products wholesale market, tool shops, auto parts facilities, and the site of a US military shooting range. These sites are key assets that will determine Changwon's future growth engines and fiscal independence."

Myeongsang Kang, a preliminary candidate for the Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam Province from the Reform New Party, is announcing his policy pledges.
[Photo by Se Ryeong Lee]

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He also referred to the development of the land vacated by the relocation of the Army's 39th Division from Sodap-dong, Uichang-gu to Haman, noting, "There was criticism that the costs and administrative efforts borne by the public sector during the development process were not sufficiently returned to the citizens. The same mistake must not be repeated in the development of new core sites in Changwon."

He continued, "According to the Local Public Enterprises Act, local governments can establish local public corporations when necessary. In Gyeonggi Province, a development profit reinvestment fund for residents is operated by ordinance, and both Busan and Gimhae have their own models of urban corporations suited to local conditions."

He stated that the 'Changwon Urban Development Corporation' should become the direct agent for public development, ensuring the following: control over the flow of development profits, prevention of private sector monopolies, and transparent disclosure of business processes and profit reinvestment structures.

He added that the corporation must be subject to institutional controls from the moment of its establishment, including management disclosures, regular audits by the city council, citizen monitoring, prioritizing public interest in joint developments with the private sector, and management of private sector profit situations.

He further stated that, as the corporation would be launched with 100% funding from Changwon City, the Public Development Profit Citizen Reinvestment Fund should be used for five main areas: citizen welfare, youth housing, establishment of an education foundation, expansion of public rental housing, and improvement of residential environments in detached housing areas.

Kang argued, "Detached housing areas in Changwon, though located in the city center, have long suffered from overlapping regulation and neglect, leading to severe deterioration of the residential environment. In order for urban development profits to contribute to improving the quality of life throughout downtown, a portion of the profits from innovative urban site development must be dedicated to the regeneration of detached housing areas."

To this end, he explained, the establishment of the Changwon Urban Development Corporation must be accompanied by simultaneous discussions on what he called the 'Detached Housing Area Normalization Package,' which includes adjusting building coverage and floor area ratios for detached housing, reviewing the permitted scope of neighborhood living facilities, supporting the renovation of old buildings, and allocating resources for infrastructure.

Kang concluded, "The Changwon Urban Development Corporation should be a structure where the public sector takes responsibility, citizens exercise oversight, and development profits are returned to the people. We must shift from privately monopolized development to a citizen-reinvestment model, thereby transforming the future revenue structure of Changwon."

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