“Stop sacrificing indigenous people”… Gimpo residents' group 'concerned' about new housing site plan

Statement from the Gimpo Hangang 2 Compact City Joint Council... “There should be no disruption to existing business.”

(Gimpo = Yonhap News) Reporter Cheon Jeong-in = Local residents' groups expressed their concerns about the government's plan to create a new housing site (Gimpo Ara) with 37,000 households in the Gochon-eup area of Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do.

The 'Gimpo Hangang 2 Public Housing District (Compact City) Countermeasure Committee Joint Consultative Body' (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Consultative Body), a gathering of nine resident groups in Gimpo City, issued a statement on the 11th and stated, "We are not opposed to the government's housing supply policy itself," but added, "Housing supply without transportation measures and development based on the premise of sacrificing indigenous peoples are no longer acceptable."

The joint consultative body is a union of individual organizations made up of residents, landowners, business owners, etc. related to the Gimpo Hangang 2 public housing district project with 51,540 households currently under development.

The joint consultative body said, “There should never be a delay in the compensation and resettlement procedures for existing Gimpo Hangang District 2 residents due to the promotion of a new project,” and requested, “The plan and goals should be presented in detail so that the project start schedule is not delayed.”

Regarding the government's policy to increase the ratio of public rental housing in new cities, the joint council expressed concern that "local tax revenues may decrease compared to housing supply centered on general sales, but the demand for local finance to expand administrative services, welfare, education, transportation, and living infrastructure due to population growth will continue to increase."

He added, “We need to calculate local allocation taxes according to the ratio of public rental housing and population growth, and strengthen the national support and financial sharing system to expand infrastructure essential to residents’ lives.”

They also urged the preparation of specific plans to solve serious traffic problems, such as extending Seoul Subway Lines 5 and 9, connecting metropolitan express railways in the western region, including the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit (GTX)-D, and expanding the metropolitan road network.

The joint consultative body said, “We will respond strongly if you ignore the legitimate demands of residents and pursue unilateral development policies.”

On the 29th of last month, the government announced new housing site candidates to supply 37,000 homes in about 3.65 million square meters of land in Gochon-eup and Sau-dong, as well as 76,000 homes in six regions of the metropolitan area.