Apgujeong Districts 3, 4 and 5, Mok-dong Complex 6 and other major redevelopment complexes in Seoul have packed their contractor selection general meetings into dates before the June local elections. May is expected to be a fiercely contested month when results from "trillion-won" business sites are announced all at once.
According to the maintenance industry on the 28th, major complexes considered the "big fish" of Seoul's redevelopment market have set their contractor selection general meetings for late May. In particular, on May 30, general meetings for mammoth complexes overlap, including Apgujeong District 5 (project cost about 1.5 trillion won), Mok-dong Complex 6 (about 1.3 trillion won), and the integrated redevelopment of Sinbanpo 19 and 25 (about 1 trillion won).
In addition, Apgujeong District 4 (about 2.1 trillion won) plans to hold its contractor selection general meeting on May 23, and Apgujeong District 3 (about 7 trillion won) on May 25. In just a week, the fate of contractor rights for key complexes in Gangnam and Mok-dong in Seoul will all be decided.
The maintenance industry pointed to the 9th nationwide local elections to be held on June 3 as the main reason contractor selection general meetings are clustered at the end of May. A large construction company official said, "From the association's standpoint, there is a strong intent to preempt policy uncertainty stemming from the possibility of a change in the Seoul mayor, who has licensing authority," adding, "In particular, Apgujeong Districts 3, 4 and 5 and Mok-dong Complex 6, which are pushing their projects under the 'rapid integrated planning' (shintong planning) led by Oh Se-hoon, decided, though tight, to hold general meetings in late May to complete contractor selection before the June local elections and preempt any potential project delay risk."
Officials at Seoul redevelopment associations agreed that if the mayor is replaced, there is a possibility that the current policy shortening project procedures could also change, and they are eager to finish selecting contractors quickly.
An official at a Seoul redevelopment association also said, "In June–July, when public officials are mobilized for election duties and organizational reshuffles follow after the outline of the winner emerges, there is a high possibility that Seoul City administration will effectively come to a halt," adding, "If we do not select a contractor before the local elections, procedures could be delayed by more than a few months, and if the bidding war overheats, we judged that the Seoul mayor could impose sanctions by executive authority, so we are speeding up."
Another executive, A, at a Seoul maintenance association said, "The memory is vivid that during Mayor Park Won-soon's tenure, tying contractor selection to obtaining project implementation approval effectively halted maintenance projects for nearly 10 years," adding, "Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office, advancing the timing of contractor selection to after 'association establishment approval' through a local government ordinance revision has made it possible to shorten project durations by one to two years."
On the other hand, some have pushed their contractor selection general meetings to after the June local elections. Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone (Districts 1 and 4) became unable to hold a contractor selection general meeting before the local elections due to a high-intensity administrative inspection by Seoul City over controversies including violations of bidding guidelines.
Yeouido Sibeom and Gwangjang Apartments also failed to enter the contractor selection stage before the elections because resident conflicts over contributed acceptance facilities (such as day care centers) have not been resolved. There are also signs of a move to seek renegotiations under a new municipal policy stance after the elections.
Construction companies are being cautious in personnel deployment due to the concentration of contractor selection general meetings in May. A construction industry official said, "May is the peak season for presales, and in Seoul, too, major landmark business sites such as Apgujeong and Mok-dong are clustered, so construction companies have no choice but to stake everything," adding, "Construction companies are striving to secure promotional personnel, and each association is comparing contractor terms proposed around the same time, so competition is expected to become even fiercer."