“Have you seen the circular apartments proposed by Samsung C&T nationwide? They have not built such apartments until now because of the poor design.” (A official from Hyundai Engineering & Construction)
On the morning of the 24th, at the Hyundai Engineering & Construction promotional center built to secure the Hanam 4 Redevelopment Project at 34-69 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, A official from Hyundai Engineering & Construction said this to about 20 members of the Hanam 4 union.
The Hanam 4 Redevelopment Project is noted as a profitable redevelopment site in northern Seoul, with a project cost reaching 1.6 trillion won. It involves redeveloping the area of 360 Bogwang-dong, Yongsan-gu, to build new apartments consisting of 2,331 housing units across 51 buildings, ranging from 4 basement levels to 22 stories.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction emphasized at its promotional center, which opened at 10 a.m., that it will steadily promote ▲ design differentiation ▲ minimizing the burden on union members ▲ honoring commitments. They explained that the exterior of the DH Han River complex reflects the philosophy of Zaha Hadid, the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize, by applying curved shapes.
A official from Hyundai Engineering & Construction stated, “We included 88,000 aluminum panels, which construction companies generally avoid using due to their high costs, throughout the complex to achieve the curved design,” and added, “Choosing Hyundai Engineering & Construction will reduce the union members’ burden by at least 190 million won.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction employed a strategy highlighting the superiority of its proposed DH Han River while emphasizing the disadvantages of the Samsung C&T proposal.
A official noted, “Hyundai Engineering & Construction arranged the complex into 29 buildings, which is 6 fewer than Samsung C&T's 35 buildings, leading to a wider landscape area and superior comfort,” but added, “Unlike Samsung C&T’s circular structure which cannot provide cross ventilation, we designed the apartments with a flat structure with all units arranged for cross ventilation, facing the southwest and southeast.”
He criticized, “Samsung C&T's circular apartments can accommodate only a total of 280 units, each with 165㎡ (50 pyeong), and half of them face north,” adding, “Only one window can face the sun directly, and the back is a hallway, making cross ventilation impossible. There are 6 units per floor, but only 3 elevators.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction also highlighted that it invested more in landscaping construction costs compared to Samsung C&T. They pointed out that Samsung C&T's claim of 1,600 apartment units with a Han River view was false. They claimed their construction period, including 6 months for demolition, is 49 months, which is over 8 months shorter than Samsung C&T's 57 months, including 9 months for demolition.
A official noted, “According to an analysis by Ten Eleven, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), Hyundai Engineering & Construction has 849 units with a view of the Han River,” adding, “However, when we substituted Samsung C&T's design documents, it came to only 650 units, so their claim of 1,650 units with a Han River view is false.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction emphasized that it can save over 21.5 billion won in financial costs and reduce the burden on each union member by 18 million won by offering a Certificate of Deposit (CD) rate plus a fixed interest rate, compared to Samsung C&T.
Samsung C&T also opened its promotional center for its proposed Glow Han River at 34-158 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, targeting about 20 members of the Hanam 4 union, at 2 p.m. on the same day, following Hyundai Engineering & Construction.
Samsung C&T emphasized to the Hanam 4 union members that Glow Han River was designed to maximize the Han River view.
B official from Samsung C&T stated, “The premium of the apartment greatly varies depending on whether there is a Han River view,” and added, “It’s certain that Samsung C&T has more than double the number of units with a Han River view compared to Hyundai Engineering & Construction.”
He remarked, “I heard that Hyundai Engineering & Construction spent over 70% of their time criticizing the Samsung C&T proposal at their promotional center, because none of Hyundai's proposal conditions are better than Samsung C&T's,” adding, “According to simulation results, more than 800 units have a view of the Han River from the living room of Samsung C&T's Glow Han River.”
Samsung C&T also urged the Hanam 4 union members to choose them while meticulously pointing out the flaws in Hyundai Engineering & Construction's proposal. They especially highlighted that their construction cost of 9.38 million won per 3.3㎡ is higher than Hyundai Engineering & Construction's 8.81 million won due to ▲ pre-reflecting the price increase caused by inflation in construction costs ▲ reflecting general sale balcony expansion construction costs ▲ applying high earthquake-resistant grades ▲ noise prevention between floors ▲ applying specialized designs worth 96 billion won.
B official stated, “Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s design problem is that there are many floor plans in tower form that do not allow for ventilation, while consisting of 6 units per floor, which makes them too narrow and confined,” and added, “Hyundai Engineering & Construction claims to have spacious distances between buildings by reducing the number of buildings to 29, but in reality, the building coverage ratio is higher than that of Samsung C&T.
Regarding the financing conditions for project costs, Samsung C&T claimed to be superior to Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Samsung C&T explained that they apply CD rates plus 0.78% not just to essential project costs, but also to project promotion costs. In contrast, Hyundai Engineering & Construction asserted they only apply CD rates plus 0.1% to essential project costs and are compelled to obtain housing and urban guarantee corporation (HUG) guarantees, which would incur additional fees.
B official criticized, “Samsung C&T increased both the revenue from sales and the area of general sales to maximize the benefits for union members,” saying, “To suggest a differentiated design that Hanam 4 desires, they should propose products that apply special provisions exclusively for Hanam 4, even if it increases construction costs, but Hyundai Engineering & Construction only lowered construction costs.”
He added, “When Hyundai Engineering & Construction emphasizes the financing condition of essential project costs of CD rate plus 0.1% with HUG guarantee fees, it changes to a CD rate plus 0.67%, and once they obtain HUG guarantees, project promotion loans are unavailable,” and elaborated, “The borrowing period for essential project costs is short, so the financial expense incurred by Hyundai Engineering & Construction is minimal. However, since union members have to bear the project promotion costs throughout the project duration, the overall financing conditions combined for essential and project promotion costs are over 11 billion won cheaper for Samsung C&T than for Hyundai Engineering & Construction.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Samsung C&T are expected to determine the final winner of the Hanam 4 district through a general meeting to select the construction company on Jan. 18, after holding a total of four briefings that began on the 23rd.
The promotional centers opened by both companies from the 24th of this month will operate until Jan. 17 of the following year. Both companies are inviting 30 to 60 union members per session, which lasts one hour, with an average of four sessions per day.