Yongsan Redevelopment Project Kicks Off

Mammoth project including construction of 67 buildings for residences, hotels, shopping malls and offices

The construction of the Yongsan International Business District in the Yongsan Station Area Redevelopment Project got its start on Oct. 11 in a ceremony at the Capital Area Railroad Rail Car Management Corp. in Hangang-ro, Seoul, four years after Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) announced its intention to attract investors in the mammoth project in 2007.
Korail President Huh Joon-young said the Yongsan Railroad Maintenance Shop, a witness for the development of the history of the Korean railroad industry, is about to be reborn as a landmark urban complex, changing Seoul's face to upgrade its competitive power to make it a global brand-name city with every one chipping in his efforts to make the project a great success. The development of the projected complex will cost 31 trillion won.
The complex has 566,800 square meters of land and projected structures include office buildings, hotels, department stores, shopping malls and residences to function as a multiplex city. The complex will have 67 skyscrapers and underground shopping malls, six times bigger than the one at COEX in southern Seoul.
In November 2007, the consortium of Samsung Corp. and the National Pension Service (NPS) won the right to build the complex, but it did not work out due to financial problems touched off by the global financial crisis that year.
A breakthrough came later with Korail successfully selling a landmark 100-story building for 4 trillion won and delaying payment for the land until the 5.3 trillion won project is completed.
Korail officials said they plan to complete the construction of the complex in 2016 at the latest. The ground preparation work is scheduled to start in August 2012 and the first shovel work for the project will get underway in January 2013.
The construction of buildings, including one that will be 100-stories high, will be kicked off by Samsung Construction and others, including a boutique and a hotel more than 70-stories high to follow.
The old railroad maintenance shop will disappear into history, ending its 107 years of existence. The shop is known for the production of special rail cars for late Presidents Rhee Syng-man and Park Chung-hee since 1927, when steam locomotives were first introduced in Korea.
Since 1970, the shop built rail cars for electric rail lines around Seoul and special trains such as Saemaul and Mugunghwa.
Seoul's multi-billon-dollar riverfront transformation into a hub of businesses and tourist attractions is planned to be yet another English-friendly district, the project developer head said Wednesday. "It will be like Itaewon (a popular foreigner district in central Seoul), where people walking on the streets can easily ask for directions and talk to store owners in English," Lee Won-ick, president and CEO of Yongsan Development, said.
The 28 trillion won ($31 billion) plan, led by a consortium consisting of Samsung Corporation and the NPS, among 25 others, is set to break ground in 2011 for completion by 2016.
The international business zone project, dubbed "Dream Hub," will house a 620-meter-high landmark building, two six-star luxury hotels, high-rise residential and commercial complexes, and shopping centers in the Yongsan district, according to the developer.
"Hospitals, schools, financial institutions, and other facilities in the 'new city' will be easily accessible to foreigners because English usage will be encouraged," he said, adding that road signs will be put up in English as well.
Lee acknowledged that English-friendliness is essential for a development project to be a genuine hub, as the potential "consumer-base" will not be just domestic, but from all over the world. He said Prudential and Samsung Life Insurance have so far asked for office space, but Yongsan Development will look for more global financial institutions as tenants.
Lee claimed that although the project currently plans no tax breaks for foreign businesses, its strategic location at the heart of Seoul will give them an edge over free economic zones, such as Songdo and Cheongna.
Despite the central location, Yongsan has been considered underdeveloped due to the railroad depot and U.S. military facilities that have taken up a significant portion of the area over the past decades.
But after the consortium bought the Korail-owned land late last year, Lee highlighted relocation of the railroad terminal as one of their main tasks. "The development process will pick up speed now, as we have a lot of work cut out for us," said the chief, stressing purchasing necessary land from residents living in the area, creating a master plan for the construction, and overseas marketing as top priorities. nw

Dignitaries cut the tape to kick off the construction of the Yongsan International Business District in the Yongsan Station Area Redevelopment Project in the areas surrounding the Yongsan Railroad Station in Yongsan, Seoul, on Oct. 11. The district will include a 100-storey tall building among other skyscrapers to be built by Samsung Construction and other firms for completion by 2016. The entire project will be completed at an estimated cost of $31 billion.

Photo on courtesy of Korail