Tension mounts over Let’sRun Park Seoul relocation

Racehorses bolt from the starting line at a racecourse inside Let’sRun Park Seoul in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 15. Courtesy of Korea Racing Authority

The country’s horse racing authority is raising hairs against the central government over plans to relocate the nation's largest horse racing park as part of a new housing initiative.

Amid the tension surrounding Let’sRun Park Seoul in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, some local governments in the province are seeking to attract the park to their areas.

While the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is discussing the relocation with the Korea Racing Authority (KRA), it remains unclear whether the move will go ahead amid opposition from the KRA and the Gwacheon city government.

The state-run agency, which operates racecourses in Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island, is reportedly reluctant to move Let’sRun Park Seoul. The park, situated on a 1.14 million-square-meter site, has been the center of the country’s horse racing and betting since it opened in 1989.

Last year, it drew more than 4 million visitors and generated an estimated 1.2 trillion won ($820 million) in ticket sales, accounting for 20 percent of the KRA’s total revenue. The park remains a key source of income for the Gwacheon-based authority.

When the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Jan. 29 plans to build new apartments on the park’s site and the surroundings to house 9,800 households, the KRA said it was caught off guard. The agency did not agree to the plan, and its position has not changed.

The KRA has two main objections. First, the new location for the park has not been decided. More importantly, no one has explained how the relocation, estimated to cost over 3 trillion won, would be financed.

“They [the central government] just told us to move. Where are we supposed to go? They haven’t provided any alternative,” KRA Vice Chairman Bang Se-kwon said. “All our employees are concerned, and most of them oppose the relocation.”

Members of the Korea Racing Authority labor union and local residents of Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, protest at Let’sRun Park Seoul, Feb. 25, the central government’s plan to relocate the park to make way for a housing project. Yonhap

Yoo Byung-uk, the agency’s public relations director, said that if the central government had been aware of the park’s large-scale facilities — including the racecourse, six-floor grandstand, more than 60 stable blocks housing 1,500 horses, clinics, a museum and a recreational riding park — it would not have proposed the relocation.

“They said the relocation is for new apartments, but horse racing is also an industry of public interest and should not be displaced,” Yoo said.

“Last year, we commissioned an outside company to calculate the relocation cost. Even excluding the land value at the new site, removing the entire park from its current location would cost more than 1.2 trillion won. I’m not sure the central government is aware of this financial burden."

Gwacheon City also opposes the relocation. The city benefits from the park’s leisure tax payments to the Gyeonggi provincial government, which total about 230 billion won per year. Under the Local Tax Act, 3 percent of that amount is allocated to the city. Combined with other local taxes, the park generated 48.5 billion won for the city last year, nearly 10 percent of its annual budget. Officials said relocating the park would eliminate this critical source of revenue.

City officials also noted that four other urban development projects are already underway, and another apartment complex would disrupt the city’s sustainability. They questioned how the relocation costs would be managed.

Last month, the KRA labor union issued a statement calling the central government’s housing plan for Gwacheon “administrative sabotage aimed at destroying the heart of the country’s horse racing industry, which has been in place for decades.”

Desperate local governments

After the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced its housing plan, which calls for the park’s relocation, some local governments have offered to rehome the facility. With the park’s tax contributions to municipal authorities and its potential economic benefits, bringing the park to their jurisdiction could be financially attractive.

Let’sRun Park Seoul sits on a 1.14 million-square-meter site and hosts horse racing as well as facilities for training and caring for the animals. Yonhap

As of this month, six cities around Gyeonggi Province have submitted proposals to host the park. Paju, Dongducheon and Uijeongbu each suggested using land formerly occupied by U.S. Forces Korea military facilities. Goyang, Pocheon and Yangju cited “balanced regional development” and the availability of large tracts of land in their jurisdictions to appeal to the central government.

Rep. Song Ok-joo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea last week promoted Hwaseong’s Hwaong region in Gyeonggi Province as a potential site for the park. Representing the Hwaseong area, she highlighted Hwaong’s Eco Farm Land, a horse leisure complex launched last year, and an entertainment theme park scheduled for completion in 2029.

“Securing a state-run site larger than Let’sRun Park Seoul is necessary for the relocation, and Hwaong District is a perfect fit,” the lawmaker said. “Relocating here will cost more than 3 trillion won. I will support the initiative by offering special incentives, such as tax exemptions and subsidies. I hope the relocation plan is completed before July.”

Song met with KRA Chairman Woo Hee-jong last month ahead of his Feb. 26 appointment to the position to discuss the country’s horse racing industry. While the two noted that a KRA-trained horse placed third at the Dubai World Cup Carnival in March last year and shared views on industry development, the meeting did not result in any agreement on relocating Let’sRun Park Seoul, according to the lawmaker’s office.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryung said last month at a press conference in Sejong that the relocation was still under discussion between the KRA and the agriculture and land ministries. The land ministry said on Wednesday it will push forward the relocation plan that includes introducing a new AI Techno Valley on the site.