Osan mayor marks 100 days with jobs-and-transport plan for Segyo 3 district
In short
Osan Mayor Cho Yong-ho used a press conference marking 100 days in office to say the city will build the Segyo 3 district into a self-sufficient city of housing, industry, jobs and transport. He said he will ask relevant agencies to expand the planned self-sufficiency site there from about 100,000 pyeong to 300,000 pyeong and create a base for AI and semiconductor industry. Transport goals include KTX stops at Osan Station, a GTX-C extension and a Bundang Line extension, projects he said still need central government procedures.
Read the full story 3 min read
Osan Mayor Cho Yong-ho said the city will develop the Segyo 3 district into a self-sufficient city combining housing and industry with jobs and transport, and will prepare a base for high-tech industry including AI and semiconductors. He set out the plans at a press conference on Oct 7 marking 100 days in office of the ninth elected term, held under the theme “100 days of steps, 1,000 days of promise.” Cho said the key to Osan's future is transport and jobs, and that he wants to expand citizens' lives and opportunities beyond the city's outward growth. [ 2 , 3 ]
The central task he described is expanding the self-sufficiency function of the Segyo 3 district: the city will ask relevant agencies to increase the self-sufficiency site now under discussion, about 100,000 pyeong, to 300,000 pyeong. It also plans to pursue metropolitan transport measures suited to the district's scale and to secure project funding, and to strengthen links with the semiconductor industry of southern Gyeonggi Province by preparing a base for AI and semiconductor firms. “We must secure quality jobs to match population growth for the city to grow qualitatively,” Cho said. [ 2 , 3 ]
On transport, Cho named KTX trains departing from Suwon stopping at Osan Station, a GTX-C extension to Osan and a Bundang Line extension as major tasks. He said procedures including inclusion in national plans and securing project feasibility remain, and that the city will explain the need for the projects to the central government and continue consultations. Alongside this, he said the city will expand express buses to Seoul and reorganise bus routes in line with changing travel demand. From Oct 13, four eco-friendly two-storey low-floor electric buses will be added to route 5300, which links the Unam area with Gangnam in Seoul; the city has also requested two-storey buses for the Segyo area and a new Seoul-bound express bus route. [ 2 ]
Inside the city, Cho said the Gyeongbu Line railway crossing road, the Yangsan-dong–National Route 1 link road, the Jigot-dong–Geumam-dong link road and the Daewon underpass will proceed according to each project's stage, with work also on the Osan IC grade separation and traffic congestion at North Osan IC. Securing outside funding, including national money, is planned to reopen Seobu-ro, he said, adding that after the temporary connecting road opened the city will rebuild Seobu-ro to restore the southern transport axis. He said procedures will continue for the Unamdeul project, that use of the Segyo Terminal and the former Seoul National University Hospital site will be reviewed in light of citizens' needs and the city's growth direction, and that a complex with education, culture and sports facilities will be pursued in the Segyo 2 district. [ 2 ]
For the local economy, the plans include revitalising the Osalsaek market and alley commercial districts, expanding local currency incentives and supporting the self-employed and start-ups, as well as developing stay-oriented tourism courses linking historical and cultural resources and connecting the Yamak festival and Doksanseong cultural festival with local commercial areas. The city also intends to prepare for the 2027–2028 Gyeonggi Provincial Sports Festival so that athletes and visitors spend locally. In education, the Osan AI Coding Edu Lab will be converted into a future education support centre focusing on AI and software education, with schools, universities and companies linked to give students technology experience and career exploration; new middle schools in Segyo 2 and Busan-dong and the separation of the Osan Office of Education will be discussed with relevant agencies. On care, the city will expand 24-hour emergency childcare centres and the Hamkkejaram elementary care centres, set up a one-stop pregnancy, birth and child-rearing support system, increase integrated care and senior jobs, and reinforce safety facilities including school routes, CCTV and emergency bells, along with the relocation of the Cheonghak 119 Safety Centre and a new Segyo police box. [ 2 ]
The documents indicate that several of the announced projects are not yet decided: the land expansion, the rail extensions and other items depend on requests to relevant agencies and consultation with the central government. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The plans are still proposals: the documents say the Segyo 3 land expansion, the rail projects and other items require agreement from central government and other agencies, so their realisation is not yet settled. The mayor framed jobs and transport as the conditions for the city's population growth to translate into local economic growth, and said he wants to link the city to the semiconductor industry in southern Gyeonggi Province.
Key facts
- Osan Mayor Cho Yong-ho held a press conference on Oct 7 marking 100 days in office of his ninth elected term, under the theme “100 days of steps, 1,000 days of promise.” [ 2 , 3 ]
- Cho said transport and jobs are the keys to Osan's future and that he wants to expand citizens' opportunities alongside the city's physical growth. [ 2 , 3 ]
- He plans to ask relevant agencies to increase the self-sufficiency site under discussion in the Segyo 3 district from about 100,000 pyeong to 300,000 pyeong. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The city intends to prepare a base for attracting high-tech industry including AI and semiconductors, strengthening links with the semiconductor industry in southern Gyeonggi Province. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Cho named KTX trains from Suwon stopping at Osan Station, a GTX-C extension to Osan and a Bundang Line extension as major transport tasks. [ 2 ]
- He said four eco-friendly two-storey low-floor electric buses will be added from Oct 13 on route 5300, which links the Unam area with Gangnam in Seoul. [ 2 ]
- He also listed commercial-district support, future-education and care measures, and said procedures remain for the rail and development projects. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Osan Mayor Cho Yong-ho presented the plans at a press conference on Oct 7 marking 100 days in office of the ninth elected term. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The mayor said jobs and transport are the core of Osan's future and that the city should grow qualitatively, not only in outward size. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The city plans to request that the self-sufficiency site in the Segyo 3 district be raised from about 100,000 pyeong to 300,000 pyeong. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The city aims to attract AI and semiconductor industry to link with southern Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor sector. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The press conference theme was “100 days of steps, 1,000 days of promise,” and the mayor's stated emphasis was on roads and jobs for the coming period. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the Segyo 3 self-sufficiency site will be expanded to 300,000 pyeong, and whether the rail projects will proceed. The documents say these require requests to relevant agencies and central government consultation, and that national plan inclusion and feasibility work remain; no approval is reported.
- Details of the Oct 13 bus deployment, the education measures and the care measures. These appear only in Asia Economy's report, a single source.
- How the former Seoul National University Hospital site and the Segyo Terminal site will be used. The documents say their use is still under review.