New Towns Planned In South Korea

Though the exact site has not been announced, plans for at least one new town have been announced. The government also plans to expand some preexisting cities, a move intended to ease housing woes.

"The Minister of Construction and Transportation Choo Byung-jik opened a press conference on October 23, saying, 'To prevent anxiety about housing prices, along with promoting the previous real estate general policy, we are planning to build a new town the size of Bundang in the metropolitan area and increase housing.'

Without revealing the proposed site, Choo said, 'The new town will not be in the greenbelt area, and by making the population density lower and more pleasant, we hope to lure in the consumption from Gangnam, Seoul.' "