Gangdong-gu (Mayor: Lee Hae-Sik) plans to use the year 2018 as a starting point for development projects that have been in progress which will transform the district into an economic city. 

Gangdong-gu plans to speed up progress on three development projects to make 2018 the first year that the district steps up as an “economic city.” In particular, it is the year in which the term of Mayor Lee Hae-Sik, who has held office three times, will end, and it is expected to become an important year that determines the future of development projects that have been in progress.

The Godeok Commercial Business Complex (234,523 ㎡), the largest development project in the history of Gangdong-gu, is a complex that includes business facilities, research facilities, shopping malls, hotels, and more. The first selection for the self-sufficiency site, the 14,067 ㎡ Lot 8, began in December 2017. The listing of the remaining lots that will make up the self-sufficiency site is scheduled to be completed this year, through an adjustment of the scale and period of listings over the course of four rounds. In addition, affiliated public officials, including the mayor, are devoting their efforts to attracting the global corporation IKEA to the logistics and sales facilities site, and negotiations with affiliated organizations, such as the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, are under way to confirm which businesses will move into the shopping mall complex within the year.

In addition, the Engineering Complex (78,144 ㎡), which will be constructed in Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu, obtained a decision of cancellation of the development restriction zone in December of 2017 and therefore, the industrial complex approval procedures, land compensation procedures, and foundational construction are expected to officially begin this year. It is a national project that began after being reported in the “Engineering Complex Construction Plan” at the 21st Presidential Council on National Competitiveness in April 2010 in which businesses related to engineering, information services, research and development, and scientific technology services are expected to move in. The Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, which is in charge of project operations, will assist the Public Knowledge Industry Center with relocating, the city of Seoul will manage the Business Incubation Center’s relocation, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will be responsible for cooperation with the Korea Engineering & Consulting Association. Gangdong-gu is also working on facilities that will be supported and used by the public sector by integrating the Job Plus Center and Social Economic Center, among other groups, in an effort to differentiate the complex from other industrial complexes.

The Sangil-dong Advanced Business Complex, which was constructed as part of the Gangdong-gu development projects, is currently active, with top-ranking corporations such as Samsung Engineering, Korea Engineering Consultants Corp., Sejong Investment, and others having moved operations into the complex. There has been a trend of expanding vacant spaces in portions of these corporations due to difficult situations such as economic slumps and uncertainties, but an economic boost within the complex is expected this year through an increase in businesses and reduction of vacant spaces with the transfer of Samsung C&T to the Samsung Engineering office building and completion of construction of the CESCO Academic Center during the latter half of the year.

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