Chong Won-o, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayor, on the 12th announced his pledge for a "great spatial transformation of Seoul" to reorganize the city into "five central districts and six metropolitan hubs" at the plaza of Cheongnyangni Station in Dongdaemun District, Seoul.
Chong said that "until now, Seoul's urban planning has been confined within the city," adding, "we will shift to a 'Greater Seoul plan' that extends to Incheon, Gyeonggi, and North Chungcheong."
The core of the pledges announced that day is to build "five central districts, six metropolitan centers, and three major growth axes" along the GTX and metropolitan rail lines. The plan is to reorganize the existing three-core system centered on Jongno, Gangnam, and Yeouido into a five-core system by adding Cheongnyangni–Wangsimni and Sinchon–Hongdae.
First, Chong designated Cheongnyangni–Wangsimni as the key transportation and business hub in the northeastern area and linked it to the GTX-C axis that connects to Seongsu, Chang-dong, Sanggye, and Gangnam.
In particular, Chong said, "we will disperse business functions concentrated in Gangnam to the northeastern area," adding, "using the Wangsimni public institution relocation site and the Cheongnyangni rail yard, we will pursue a large-scale mixed-use development like 'Hudson Yards.'"
Chong also announced that the northwestern area would likewise be tied to GTX-A to connect Sinchon, Hongdae, Sangam, Susaek, and Yeonsinnae, and develop Sinchon–Hongdae as the fifth business district. He added that by using vacant commercial spaces and idle areas as bases for startups and production, he would turn it into "Asia's export base for the content and cultural industry."
As the final growth axis, Chong announced, "we will relaunch the Gangbuk transverse line to consolidate the universities clustered in Gangbuk into a single rail network." Chong emphasized, "if Gangnam grew with Line No. 2, Gangbuk will awaken with a university circulatory axis."
However, noting that "we can draw up plans, but execution is key," Chong proposed "Step-by-step Economic Vitality Zones" as a means to achieve this. He said the city would assess corporations' investment plans and growth potential to apply differentiated public-contribution rates and, in some cases, allow full exemptions for incentives. Chong argued, "this is a new system never tried domestically, but it is fully feasible within the current legal framework."
Even so, responding to budget concerns raised, Chong said, "this is not about injecting public funds but about making private investment concrete," adding, "we can find solutions within existing Seoul Metropolitan Government projects."
Chong answered similarly to concerns that the pledges could intensify concentration in Seoul and clash with the government's balanced development policy. Chong emphasized, "as administrative functions are transferred to the administrative capital Sejong and with full government support the provinces are expected to achieve industrial growth, Seoul receives little government support," adding, "Seoul must, on its own, lift the national economic growth rate."
Chong then cited Seoul's real GDP growth rate as an example. Chong said, "as of 2024, Seoul's GRDP growth rate is in the 1% range, only about half the national average," adding, "we will raise the Republic of Korea's economic growth rate that Seoul is dragging down."