The public redevelopment project for the area around 1169, Sungin-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, which had idled for five years, has averted cancellation. After tallying resident opinions, the opposition rate fell short of the threshold for scrapping the plan, and Jongno District decided to keep pushing the project. However, residents opposed to the public redevelopment model are demanding a full review, raising the possibility of continued conflict during the designation of the maintenance zone and the selection of the project operator.
According to the maintenance industry on the 8th, the Jongno District Office announced on the 30th of last month that it had decided to continue the public redevelopment project for the area around 1169, Sungin-dong. Based on the tally of opinions from land and other owners, the consent rate opposing public redevelopment was 24.4%. For public redevelopment, if 30% or more of land and other owners oppose, or if owners of one-half or more of the land area oppose, the plan can be scrapped. If 25% or more of land and other owners oppose, the plan can be subject to reconsideration. This time, the opposition rate did not even meet the reconsideration threshold.
A Jongno District Office official said, "Whether to designate the maintenance zone will be decided after a Seoul City review." According to the maintenance plan disclosed for public inspection in Jan., the area around 1169, Sungin-dong is slated for an apartment complex up to 40 stories and 666 households, along with ancillary welfare facilities. It includes 147 rental units.
Public redevelopment is a system introduced in 2020 to increase urban housing supply as the housing shortage worsened. Public institutions such as the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) or the Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation (SH) participate in the project to support permitting and implementation; in return, 50% or more of the dwellings excluding member-sale portions must be supplied as public rental dwellings and the like.
The area around 1169, Sungin-dong was selected as a public redevelopment candidate site in 2021. At the time, the Moon Jae-in administration proposed publicly led renewal of this area, which is dense with old multi-family dwellings and shops, to increase urban housing supply. But some owners opposed the public redevelopment model, citing low profitability and heavy public-contribution burdens, and the project failed to gain momentum for a long period.
As resident opposition continued, the Jongno District Office asked Seoul City in Sept. 2024 to remove the site from candidate status. In May last year, Seoul conditionally deferred the cancellation, requiring the maintenance plan to be disclosed for public inspection within a year. Afterward, Jongno District conducted the public inspection of the plan in Jan. this year and, starting in March, tallied opinions from land and other owners. As the result fell short of the criteria for scrapping the plan, it concluded to continue the project.
Some residents, however, say it is hard to accept this decision. Residents opposing public redevelopment submitted a petition to the Jongno District Office and the Jongno District Council demanding a full review of the project and disclosure of the basis for calculating the opposition rate, and they reportedly also tipped off the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Even if the area is designated a maintenance zone, the project will not immediately get on track. For LH to be designated the project operator, consent is required from owners of one-half or more of the land area and from two-thirds or more of land and other owners. If opposition persists, fresh friction could surface at the project-operator designation stage.
Public redevelopment overall is also sputtering. The government initially set a goal of "groundbreaking within five years," but among the 34 selected candidate sites, only the Sinseol 1 district in Dongdaemun District has obtained project implementation approval. The areas around 305, Yeongeon-dong in Jongno District and 1109, Geumho-dong in Seongdong District were dropped from the candidate list late last year due to high opposition rates. The Geumho 23 district is pursuing redevelopment by switching to the fast-track integrated planning.
An industry official said, "Across public redevelopment candidate sites, there are calls to switch the project model to fast-track integrated planning or private urban complex development," adding, "If residents who view profitability as low are not persuaded, there may not be many business sites that see the public redevelopment model through to the end."