After the government announced plans to develop a public housing site of 37,000 households in the Gochon-eup and Sau-dong area of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, worries are spreading among existing residents that traffic congestion will worsen. They say that a large residential area at the gateway bordering Seoul could make commuter congestion even worse. Residents are unanimous that railways and roads should be in place before homes.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Gimpo City on the 4th, the government announced six new public housing site candidates in the Seoul metropolitan area on October 29, including Gimpo Ara. The plan calls for 37,000 households on a site of about 3.65 million square meters, the largest volume among the six. The candidate site is on the Han River bank bordering Seoul's Gangseo District and is connected to Gimpo Hangang-ro and the Capital Region First Ring Expressway, and a Seoul Subway Line 5 extension project is under way nearby. The government's plan is to combine it with the Hangang Cine-polis general industrial complex and the Gochon logistics complex to create a living zone with both housing and jobs.
On October 30, Land Minister Hong Ji-seon said the ministry would give maximum support so that the Line 5 extension project can be completed before Gimpo Ara residents move in. The ministry will speed up the basic plan and help ensure that detailed design and groundbreaking proceed without a hitch. Gimpo City is putting forward "transport first, move-in later" and takes the position that development of the new site must not delay the existing Line 5 extension project. The city also requested a Line 9 extension to Gimpo and an expansion of the road network. How much these demands will be reflected in future transport measures and project schedules remains an open question.
After the announcement, posts expressing concern about transport problems followed one after another in local online communities. Kang (in their 40s), who lives in Gimpo New Town, worried: "They should expand transport first and then build homes. The traffic is already terrible from the entrance of Gimpo, and we won't be able to take the subway." One netizen asked for the railway project to be sped up, saying, "Don't just build homes. It should be transport first, move-in later."
The anxiety of Hangang New Town residents stems from the fact that a new residential complex will sit at the gateway to Seoul. It has been pointed out that if development concentrates in the Gochon area, traffic on the stretch that residents of inner Gimpo pass through on their way to Seoul will increase accordingly. Real estate communities carried posts such as "There's no solution beyond Gochon" and "Traffic will be paralyzed without a Second Hangang Road," demanding more roads. The Hangang New Town Federation also pointed out that if new development takes place close to Seoul, it could become harder for existing residents to travel to Seoul.
Transport inconvenience in Gimpo has accumulated since before this announcement. When the Gimpo Goldline opened in September 2019, residents could take a railway in addition to buses and private cars. The line starts at Yangchon, passes major residential areas and reaches Gimpo Airport Station. But congestion grew as commuters crowded into the light rail, whose trains have two cars each, and to get to Seoul's downtown business districts, riders must transfer again at Gimpo Airport Station to Line 5, Line 9 or the Airport Railroad. That is why residents want new railways even though trains have been added and intervals shortened. An official at a real estate agency in Janggi-dong said, "Trains come every two to three minutes, but it is true that they are crowded during rush hours."
Housing supply projects other than Gimpo Ara are also proceeding one after another. They include Gimpo Hangang 2 Compact City, the Pungmu Station area development and the redevelopment of the Bukbyeon area. This is why residents are calling for transport measures that cover existing projects, not just each individual housing site.
The first alternative mentioned is the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo and Geomdan. The line runs from Seoul's Banghwa through Incheon's Geomdan to Gimpo, and cleared the preliminary feasibility study hurdle in March. Once completed, people will be able to travel to Magok, Yeouido, Gwanghwamun and elsewhere without transferring, which is expected to spread out the Seoul-bound demand concentrated on the Goldline. However, steps remain, such as the basic plan, design and construction, so the gap between the move-in date for the new apartments and the railway opening is the key issue.
Regarding this supply measure, Lee Eun-hyeong, a research fellow at the Construction Policy Research Institute of Korea, said, "It is not an exaggeration to say it reaffirms the direction of the government policy of expanding housing supply," but added, "The market stabilization effect should be viewed over the long term rather than the short term." This means that the time between a supply announcement and actual move-in must be taken into account.
Development of Gimpo Ara has entered the stage of collecting residents' opinions. Gimpo City will accept opinions on the designation of the public housing district and project approval until the 18th, and residents can view materials and submit opinions at Gimpo City Hall and the Gochon-eup and Sau-dong administrative welfare centers. In the planned project area, construction of buildings, changes to land form and quality or division of land, stockpiling of objects, and planting or felling of trees have been restricted since October 29. The project aims for district designation next year, groundbreaking in 2029 and completion in 2035.