Korea to build 81,322 square-meter theme park in Saemangeum

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo [Photo by Yonhap]

The South Korean government will build a theme park in the Saemangeum reclamation area in North Jeolla Province, in a first private investment project for tourism development under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The plan was approved during a meeting of the Saemangeum Committee held at the government complex in Seoul on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC).

Under the plan, Challenge Theme Park, a residence-based tourist facility, will be built at Saemangeum Seawall No. 1. The project operator is Challenge Theme Park Co., joined by Kyesung Construction Co. (51 percent) and SMG Tech (49 percent).

The total development area covers approximately 81,322 square meters, which is about 11 times the size of a soccer field.

Tourist accommodations will include a resort condo with 150 rooms, 15 standalone villas, as well as a performance venue for children and a Ferris wheel.

In order to promote a mutually beneficial relationship with the local community, the government plans to set up a sales area for local products and revamp the Masilgil Trail, which is currently in operation, to be fully open to the public.

Out of the total project cost of 144.3 billion won ($111.12 million), the operator’s equity capital is 36.1 billion won (25 percent), and the remaining 108.2 billion won (75 percent) will be financed through loans and other means.

The operator plans to begin land development work with its own funds and use part of the presale profits to repay the loans starting next year.

“The Saemangeum project has faced many challenges since the construction of the seawall in 1991, especially with very minimal private investment,” Prime Minister Han said. “A total of 7.8 trillion won in private investment has been decided since the launch of the current administration, and the project is expected to attract around 10 trillion won in investment by the end of the year.”

Discussions during the meeting also included measures for environmental pollution management at the secondary battery business site in the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex.

Companies such as LG Chem Ltd., SK on Co., and GM Korea Co. have decided to build factories there to localize precursors that are highly dependent on Chinese imports as core materials for cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries. Each will invest more than 1 trillion won.

Precursors are a mixture of nickel, cobalt, and manganese that are used in ternary battery cathode materials, for which Korean companies are dominating the global market, and lithium hydroxide is added to complete the cathode material.

The country’s dependence on Chinese imports of the precursor is over 90 percent.

The Ministry of Environment plans to work with related agencies such as the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency and North Jeolla Province to promote four areas of measures for environmental pollution management at secondary battery plants.

First, environmental infrastructure such as public wastewater treatment facilities and waste treatment facilities will be expanded to properly treat pollutants such as wastewater and waste.

Joint pipes will also be installed so that companies can discharge wastewater immediately after purifying it. A technical support group will be established under the National Institute of Chemical Safety to prevent chemical accidents.