Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry: "LH Housing Supply in Janghang Industrial Complex Must Be Expedited"... Proposal Submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

[Financial News] The Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman Jeong Tae-hee) announced on the 16th that it had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) requesting the prompt implementation of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) apartment housing projects in Blocks A-2 and B-1 to promote the attraction of companies to the Janghang National Ecological Industrial Complex and improve workers' living conditions.
The Janghang Industrial Complex project had been stalled since its designation in 1989 due to environmental conflicts over the reclamation of tidal flats. It gained momentum in 2007, when the government proposed the 'Seocheon Development Government Alternative Project,' linking the National Institute of Ecology, the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, and the Inland Industrial Complex, and signed an agreement with Seocheon-gun. The original industrial complex plan included a total of 1,540 LH housing units to facilitate workers' settlement and secure the complex's competitiveness: 460 rental units in A-1, 444 units for sale in A-2, and 636 units for sale in B-1.
However, only Block A-1, with 460 units, has actually been supplied to date, while the projects for the remaining 1,080 units in Blocks A-2 and B-1 have been delayed for several years. As a result, an abnormal structure has become entrenched in which more than 60% of the 967 workers employed by companies operating in the Janghang Industrial Complex commute from nearby areas outside Seocheon, such as Gunsan, rather than living in Seocheon. With housing demand certain to increase as major institutions such as the Marine Bio Cluster and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) West Sea Research Institute move in, the lack of residential infrastructure is being identified as the biggest obstacle to attracting companies and recruiting workers.
The Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry is particularly concerned that the Block B-1 project has been delayed for an extended period after being rejected in LH's management investment review last year.
Its position is that these apartment housing projects are not merely profit-oriented housing ventures but core infrastructure for the government alternative project pursued to promote balanced national development. Therefore, they should not be approached solely according to short-term profitability.
Accordingly, in its proposal, the Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged LH to finalize the resubmission of Block B-1 to next year's management investment review, begin preliminary procedures such as a demand survey within this year, and provide active management and support at the level of MOLIT and LH headquarters.
An official from the Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry emphasized, "A stable housing supply is essential for securing workers for tenant companies, helping workers settle in the region, and preventing population outflow," adding, "Establishing a settlement base is also urgent to foster future growth engines of the Janghang Industrial Complex, such as the marine bio and aviation security industries."
The official also stated, "If workers who commute from outside the area settle in the region, it will help prevent population outflow and revitalize the local economy," adding, "Furthermore, securing residential infrastructure is an urgent task, where every second counts, to establish the key future industries being pursued by the Janghang Industrial Complex, such as marine biotechnology and aviation security."

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter