IFEZ Introduces Landscape Guidelines to Encourage Specialized Apartment Design
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) will implement new landscape guidelines to encourage creative and specialized design in apartment complexes. As apartment buildings account for around 60% of all structures in the Incheon Free Economic Zone and have a significant impact on the cityscape, there has been growing public demand for improved landscape management. Under the new guidelines, the authority will partially limit the length of residential buildings and promote more diverse architectural forms to enhance openness. The guidelines will apply not only to apartment complexes under the Housing Act but also to residential officetels and mixed-use developments.
Registration Requirements Eased for Auto Repair and Sales Businesses
Incheon Metropolitan City has eased registration requirements for motor vehicle management businesses to reduce the burden on small business owners facing economic slowdown and rising prices. Under an amended municipal ordinance, effective April 20, the qualification criteria for auto repair personnel have been expanded from “certified technician or higher” to include “assistant technicians,” defined as individuals with at least three years of experience in the field after certification. As a result, approximately 70,700 individuals nationwide who had not been recognized as certified repair personnel since the abolition of the assistant technician qualification about 20 years ago will now be able to register and work as official repair staff in Incheon.
Incheon Strengthens Tailored Job Support to Respond to Large-scale Employment Changes
Amid increasing corporate restructuring and the retirement of baby boomers, Incheon Metropolitan City is strengthening its field-oriented, customized job support programs. The city announced that it will enhance a comprehensive support system covering both recruitment and reemployment, particularly targeting workplaces experiencing large-scale employment changes. The initiative follows a request from the Korean Metal Workers’ Union’s GM Korea branch and will be carried out twice a month over three months from April 20 to the end of June, in cooperation with the Incheon Northern Employment Welfare Plus Center and Bupyeong-gu Office.
Incheon Strengthens Integrated Support System for Small Businesses
Incheon Metropolitan City is restructuring its 2026 small business support policies around new initiatives, shifting focus from crisis response to building a foundation for growth. Under the new implementation plan for 2026, the city will invest a total of 219.6 billion won to push ahead with policies based on five strategic pillars and 17 key tasks. The plan aims to reposition small businesses, currently struggling with economic slowdown and delayed consumption recovery, as key drivers of the local economy and not merely as entities needing protection.
Incheon Increases M6464 Buses Operating Between Songdo and Gangnam
Two more buses will be added to the M6464 metropolitan express route connecting Songdo and Gangnam starting April 24, reducing waiting times for users. The route, which begins at Hillstate Lake Songdo 2-cha in Songdo, Incheon and runs to Gangnam Station in Seoul, was launched on February 28 to address transportation demand from residents in Songdo District 6 and parts of District 3, where population has recently increased due to large-scale housing developments. Bus users can travel to Gangnam from Songdo without transferring. With the additional buses, the total number of vehicles will increase from three to five on weekdays, cutting peak-hour intervals roughly in half and significantly improving convenience.
Two Modern Heritage Sites to be Designated as City-registered Cultural Heritage
Two sites reflecting Incheon’s modern history, one religious and one industrial, are set to be designated as city-registered cultural heritage. Incheon Metropolitan City announced that it will officially register the “Maraval Brothers Missionary Chapel,” associated with Catholic missionary history, and the “Former Sorae Salt Farm Warehouse and Brine Storage Facility,” the oldest surviving salt warehouse in Korea, as cultural heritage of the city. The city said the registration once again demonstrates the effectiveness of its registered cultural heritage system.
Sources: https://news.ifm.kr
