The Seoul Metropolitan Government designated 68 areas in the city as "tourism accommodation specialized zones" and decided to raise the floor area ratio by more than 200% if a hotel (three stars or higher) is built in these zones. The current floor area ratio limit for general commercial areas in Seoul is 800%, and this will be raised to 1,040%. Not only major areas such as Myeong-dong, Teheran-ro, Yeouido and Sinchon, but also Sadang, Gongneung, Seokgwan, Suyu, Jeonnong, Cheonho, Konkuk University, and Yeonsinnae are included, covering 21,786,704.3 square meters (about 6,594,780 pyeong) across 24 autonomous districts in Seoul. The area is equivalent to 1,028 soccer fields.
Seoul plans to convene the Joint Urban Architecture Committee within the year to finalize these details. As the number of foreign tourists increases, calls have grown to expand lodging facilities for them, and the move is seen as a bid to provide bold incentives.
According to the development industry and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 21st, Seoul is conducting a final review of a plan titled "Urban Management Plan (decision (change) on 68 district-unit plans including the Myeong-dong tourism special zone)." The 68 areas are spread across 24 autonomous districts. Of these, nine areas including Myeong-dong in Jung District, Teheran-ro, Yeouido and Yongsan will be designated as tourism accommodation specialized zones and will receive floor area ratio benefits with no time limit. In addition, 59 areas including Yangjae central district, Cheonho district, Konkuk University entrance station district, and Yeonsinnae will receive floor area ratio benefits on a temporary basis if they apply for a building permit within three years from the date of the decision notice.
By autonomous district, Jongno District has the most specialized zones, with 11 locations including Sejong-ro, Jongno 2, 3, 4 and 5-ga, and Yulgok-ro. Jung District also includes six locations such as Myeong-dong, Bukchang, Sogong and Namdaemun Market, while Yeongdeungpo District, Dongdaemun District, Gangseo District and Gwanak District (four locations each) include many as well.
By area, the "Yongsan" zone around Bongnae-dong in Jung District and Hangang-ro in Yongsan District is the largest at 3,467,822 square meters (about 1,049,016 pyeong). The Yeouido financial center zone (1,120,586 square meters), Teheran-ro (959,160 square meters), Jamsil metropolitan center District 1 (858,791 square meters) and the Yeongdeungpo subcenter area (792,010 square meters) also have large zone areas.
Also, nine zones exceed 500,000 square meters in area: ◇ Geumcheon urban core (747,098 square meters) ◇ around Dongdaemun History and Culture Park (669,072 square meters) ◇ Cheonho district (655,437 square meters) ◇ Seocho-ro (599,620 square meters) ◇ Bongcheon regional center (573,347 square meters) ◇ around Sinchon district (548,255 square meters) ◇ Sillim district center (534,795 square meters) ◇ around Janghanpyeong (523,805 square meters) ◇ around Jeong-dong (508,446.3 square meters).
Lee Hyun-jung, head of Seoul's Urban Management Policy Team, said, "With more foreign visitors, this policy aims to expand the supply of infrastructure such as accommodations," and added, "Because many tourists book hotels on the outskirts due to lodging costs, we are providing incentives outside the downtown to encourage a wider range of choices for foreign tourists."
To receive floor area ratio incentives, a hotel must be three stars or higher. In addition, the room ratio of the hotel (the sum of the floor areas used for rooms as a share of the total gross floor area) must exceed 80%.
Kim Jin-yu, a professor in the Department of Urban Transportation Engineering at Kyonggi University, said, "As Seoul becomes a global city, if accommodations are not properly secured, there is a possibility that housing could be replaced by lodging through services such as Airbnb," and added, "It is positive to pursue proactive administration as a preventive measure."
Yoo Sun-jong, a professor in the Department of Real Estate at Konkuk University, said, "With the spread of K-culture, the number of foreign tourists has reached a level that cannot be accommodated, which is why such policies are being pursued, and policy efforts to supply accommodations in line with demand will be needed going forward."
Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists who visited Seoul last year was 12.12 million, and this year it is expected to surpass 15 million. That is expected to be a record high. The previous record high was 13.9 million in 2019. In audit results on Oct. 1 released by the Board of Audit and Inspection for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it projected that the number of foreign tourists in Seoul in 2026 would be 19.11 million, and forecast a shortage of tourism hotel rooms as a result.