INCHEON — Redevelopment of Incheon's Yongyu area, adrift for more than two decades after a series of failed large-scale private projects since its designation as a free economic zone in 2003, is moving forward under public leadership.
The city of Incheon said on the 21st that it has drawn up and announced a plan designating the Yongyu 2 urban development district and setting out its development scheme, aimed at preventing haphazard development and protecting residents' property rights.
Despite sitting behind Incheon International Airport, Yongyu lost its free economic zone status in 2018 after overreaching attempts to draw private capital collapsed, including the 300 trillion won "8City" integrated tourism and leisure complex and the "Noeulbit Town" project. Construction was restricted for years in the process, leaving residents unable to exercise their private property rights, while roads, water and sewer lines and other infrastructure were not built on schedule, leaving living conditions severely run down.
For this project, Yeongjong District, which has jurisdiction over the area, will take part directly as the developer to untangle years of stalled development. It will proceed through land readjustment, under which landowners receive developed land instead of cash compensation, with total project costs of about 45 billion won. Yeongjong District requested approval for the district designation in September 2025, and administrative procedures were completed after consultations with related agencies and review by the urban planning committee.
Under the plan, the district will host a combined administrative town to improve convenience for residents, along with systematically arranged residential land. The city plans to expand roads, small parks and other poor urban infrastructure to reshape the area into a comfortable residential complex.
Lee Won-ju, director general of Incheon's urban planning bureau, said the project "will serve as an opportunity to protect the property rights of residents who have been constrained by long-standing regulations and to resolve chronic shortages of infrastructure," adding, "We will concentrate administrative resources to ensure the project is completed smoothly."
