The project for the Yongin Pogok Smart Logistics Center, which Gyeonggi Province had aimed to develop into a large-scale logistics complex, has been abandoned. The land of about 450,000 square meters that the developer had purchased for the complex development went up for public auction after failing to repay project financing (PF) loans. This site was once used as the KYUNGBANG Yongin factory, and Everland and the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway are nearby. It even attracted interest from global investors such as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).
According to the real estate and investment banking sectors on the 11th, a public auction is underway for a land area of 452,787 square meters (around 137,000 pyeong) located at 46 Samgye-ri, Pogok-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin City. The appraised value of the land is 370.276 billion won, and eight rounds of bidding were held from the 3rd to the 10th through the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO).
The land on auction includes factory land and building land intended for development as the 'Yongin Pogok Smart Logistics Complex,' along with adjacent rice fields, forests, and roads. Gyeonggi Province first approved the preliminary plan in 2020, and Yongin City made some changes before granting the third approval on December 3rd, 2023. The developer 'Dingdong' is a company that holds equity from Bujak Co., Ltd., Bomi Construction, and Woomee Global.
A representative from the main creditor group said, "The developer failed to properly pay interest, leading to the loss of benefits from the PF bridge loan, and the creditor financial institutions decided on the public auction." The borrowing fund received from the unit Saemaul Geumgo, Saemaul Geumgo Central Association, Shinhan Capital, Korea Investment Capital, and Korea Development Bank Capital amounts to 282.5 billion won, and the bond maturity date was on January 26th, with a grace period until April 10th for exercising the bonds.
In the public notification of the project approval, Yongin City stated the purpose of designating the logistics complex, saying, "It is to secure momentum as a future growth gateway for Yongin's new growth axis and to establish a logistics hub in the metropolitan area, as well as to prevent urban functional decline through planned development of inadequate urban facilities (factories)."
This project site is close to Everland and the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway, making it attractive due to good transportation conditions, and it once attracted the interest of domestic and international investors. In 2022, IGIS Asset Management considered acquiring it using a National Pension blind fund. Brookfield Asset Management and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) are also reported to have reviewed investments.
An industry insider noted, "The logistics centers faced oversupply following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rapid rise in construction costs has worsened the project's viability. For this reason, facilities that were unable to transition from the initial bridge loan stage to full PF have often struggled to repay relatively high bridge loan interest, leading to issues such as the loss of benefits and project abandonment. "