Mayor Lee Hyun-jae of Hanam City: "Camp Humphreys Self-Sufficient City Construction as a High-Tech Industry Hub Will Gain Momentum"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Um In-yong] The private operator recruitment briefing for the 'Camp Humphreys Urban Development Project' being pursued by Mayor Lee Hyun-jae with the goal of fostering future-oriented high-tech industries garnered significant interest from major domestic construction companies and associations including GS Engineering & Construction, HDC Hyundai Industrial Development, and the Korean REITs Association.

On the 8th, Hanam City and Hanam Urban Development Corporation held the 'Camp Humphreys Urban Development Project Private Operator Recruitment Briefing' at the COEX Conference Room in Seoul, with attendance by Mayor Lee Hyun-jae, Choi Chul-gyu, President of Hanam Urban Development Corporation, Shin Dong-soo, President of the Korean REITs Association, Oh Jang-seop, Chairman of Hanam City's Civic Participation Innovation Committee, Kim Byung-soo, Head of Hanam City's Investment Attraction Team, Lee Hee-geun, President of Hanam City Business Association, and Lee Dong-gi, President of COEX, among other distinguished guests.

The Camp Humphreys Urban Development Project, which promotes public-private joint initiatives for development focused on actual demand users, is an urban development project that will create a convergence complex on the approximately 250,000 square meter Camp Humphreys site—a returned U.S. military base in the Hasangok-dong area—to strengthen Hanam City's self-sufficient functions through future high-tech industries.

This briefing was organized to lay the groundwork for successful business attraction by promoting detailed information about the project before the recruitment announcement for private operators at Camp Humphreys.

At the briefing, Mayor Lee Hyun-jae explained that Hanam City, where the Camp Humphreys site is located, is connected by five railway networks (Lines 3, 5, 9, Wirye Sincsa Line, and GTX-D and F) and five expressway networks (Seoul Metropolitan Circumferential Expressway, Jungbu Expressway, etc.)—including planned construction—emphasizing that the region has excellent location advantages and high development potential.

He also elaborated that since the site is adjacent to Kyosan New Town, a third-generation new city, it will be a project site where residents can enjoy superior living conditions through future commercial support facilities and improved traffic conditions.

Mayor Lee Hyun-jae stated, "Camp Humphreys has the advantage of being in the best location adjacent to Gangnam in Seoul, the nation's largest business district, making site development easy," and introduced, "Additionally, since it is state-owned land under the Ministry of Defense with affordable land supply prices and no need to worry about compensation, that is also a major strength."

Subsequently, Hanam Urban Development Corporation explained the main contents of the recruitment plan and presented a vision of attracting excellent companies by developing Camp Humphreys as a strategic fostering facility capable of creating self-sufficient facilities such as office and industrial facilities for industrial development and job creation in Hanam City. However, the corporation announced a policy to discourage simple data centers and logistics warehouses while not imposing restrictions on other types of businesses and facilities.

Along with this, major development directions introduced include ▲ pursuing public-private joint projects for development focused on actual demand users (enabling development plans that reflect corporate needs) ▲ promoting rapid site activation by encouraging direct use by private operators as actual demand users ▲ providing various incentives (one-stop processing support, etc.).

Furthermore, during the Q&A session at the briefing, reflecting strong interest in the Camp Humphreys project, diverse questions poured in: ▲ whether private operators can propose development concepts and basic plans ▲ whether Green Belt (GB) release affects land compensation prices ▲ whether soil contamination has been completed, among others.

During the direct Q&A session, Mayor Lee Hyun-jae stated, "Since we held this briefing to hear diverse opinions before finalizing the recruitment plan, it is naturally possible for private operators to propose development concepts and basic plans."

He continued, "The land compensation price will follow the standards before GB release according to Article 23 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Land Compensation Act," and explained, "Regarding soil contamination remediation, all contaminated soil was remediated in 2011 after the U.S. military base withdrawal."

Lastly, the mayor said emphatically, "Hanam City will reflect the creative opinions of private operators proposed at today's briefing in the Camp Humphreys Urban Development Project and successfully complete the public-private joint project for development focused on actual demand users."

Meanwhile, the Camp Humphreys site was returned in April 2007. Hanam City, which signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Defense in 2022 for the utilization of the Camp Humphreys site, plans to conduct recruitment of private operators to participate in the public-private joint project by the end of October this year.