Incheon's Jemulpo Renaissance project under fire as Park Chan-dae transition team cites 'incompetent, irresponsible' governance

The Jemulpo Renaissance, the signature urban renewal initiative of outgoing Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok's administration, is facing sweeping scrutiny as the city prepares to transition to a new government.

The transition team of incoming Mayor Park Chan-dae announced Sunday that it had reviewed three core components of the project — the redevelopment of Piers 1 and 8 at the inner harbor, the urban development project around Dongincheon Station, and the operational status of the Sangsang Platform cultural complex — and said the review had uncovered "a lack of public communication, an absence of fiscal planning, and poor management throughout."

"The Jemulpo Renaissance was carried out under the banner of urban regeneration, but in practice, civic participation was excluded and performative governance was repeated," the transition team said. "The Park Chan-dae administration will develop a viable strategy for revitalizing the old city center."

Inner harbor redevelopment: from 'returning the sea to residents' to high-density development controversy

The redevelopment of Piers 1 and 8 at Incheon's inner harbor has become the focal point of the controversy.

The transition team said a civic participation channel — an ordinance establishing a public regeneration citizens' committee for the inner harbor — was abolished in July 2023, all but eliminating public input into the project.

It also took issue with a master plan recently submitted by Incheon City to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries that includes a mixed-use cultural facility up to 120 meters tall and no more than 40 stories.

The transition team said the project had strayed from its original goal of creating an open, citizen-centered waterfront space, with the focus shifting instead to high-density development.

"Contrary to the promise of returning the sea to residents, large-scale high-rise development is being pursued between the old city center and the waterfront — a decision made without any public deliberation," the transition team said.

Incheon City has maintained that a degree of mixed-use development is necessary to revitalize the old city center and ensure the project's economic viability.

The dispute over the scale and form of development is widely expected to be revisited under the incoming administration.

Dongincheon Station project: ground-breaking ceremony, then a standstill

The urban development project around Dongincheon Station also drew sharp criticism from the transition team.

Incheon City held a ground-breaking ceremony for the demolition of Songhyeon Jayu Market late last year, signaling the formal launch of development in the area.

At the time, the city said it would begin by clearing aging and hazardous structures and proceed with a mixed-use urban development project with a total budget of 435.1 billion won ($283 million).

The transition team said the city "held the ground-breaking ceremony before adequate funding and compensation plans were in place."

Its review found that only about 5 percent of privately owned land within the project zone had been fully compensated, and that actual demolition was limited to some sections.

Songhyeon Jayu Market had been flagged for demolition on safety grounds, and the city had prioritized its removal to protect residents.

The transition team nonetheless said "what matters more than the pace of the project is securing sustainable funding and minimizing harm to residents," and questioned the way the project had been managed.

Sangsang Platform: management and oversight under scrutiny

The Sangsang Platform, a mixed-use cultural complex built to help revitalize the old city center, also came under fire for management failures.

The transition team said Incheon Tourism Organization had terminated its contract with the facility's operator over approximately 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million) in unpaid rent and filed a lawsuit, but lost at the first trial; an appeal is now underway.

It also said illegal subletting had occurred in some areas of the complex and that oversight had not been exercised in a timely manner.

The failure to stably operate a key public facility funded by taxpayer money has undermined confidence in the Jemulpo Renaissance project as a whole, the transition team said.

Eyes on whether incoming administration will change course on Jemulpo Renaissance

The Jemulpo Renaissance was the defining campaign pledge of the outgoing administration — a plan to link the old city centers of Jung-gu and Dong-gu with the inner harbor area and transform them into a new economic and cultural hub.

The Yoo administration had said the initiative would reverse the decline of the old city center and restore it as an engine of growth.

With the incoming transition team now directly challenging how the project was carried out, changes to its direction and implementation appear inevitable.

"The planning was autocratic, the execution was irresponsible, and the management was incompetent," the transition team said. "We will develop a new urban regeneration strategy that puts residents' lives at the center."