The public redevelopment project in the area of 1169 Sungin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, which had idled for five years, has averted cancellation. After tallying residents' opinions, the opposition rate fell short of the threshold for withdrawing the proposal, and Jongno-gu decided to continue with the project. However, because residents opposing the public redevelopment model are demanding a full reexamination, the conflict may persist.
According to the redevelopment industry on the 8th, the Jongno-gu Office announced on the 30th of last month that it had decided to continue推进 the public redevelopment project in the area of 1169 Sungin-dong. Based on the tally of opinions from owners of land and other properties, the consent rate opposing public redevelopment was 24.4%. Public redevelopment proposals can be withdrawn if 30% or more of land and other property owners oppose, or if owners of at least one-half of the land area oppose. If 25% or more of land and other property owners oppose, the proposal can be subject to reconsideration. This time, the opposition rate did not even reach the threshold for reconsideration.
A Jongno-gu Office official said, "Whether to designate the redevelopment zone will be decided after a review by the Seoul Metropolitan Government." According to the redevelopment plan made available for public inspection in January this year, the area of 1169 Sungin-dong is slated for an apartment complex of up to 40 stories with 666 units and ancillary welfare facilities. It includes 147 rental units.
Public redevelopment is a system introduced in 2020 to increase urban dwelling supply as the housing shortage worsened. Public institutions such as the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) or the Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation participate in the project and support approvals and implementation; in return, more than 50% of dwellings excluding the portions allotted to association members must be supplied as public rental housing, among others.
The 1169 Sungin-dong area was selected as a public redevelopment candidate site in 2021. At the time, the Moon Jae-in administration unveiled a plan to increase urban dwelling supply by publicly led redevelopment of the area, which is dense with old multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings. However, as some owners opposed the public redevelopment model, citing low business feasibility and a heavy burden of public contributions, the project failed to gain momentum for a long period.
As resident opposition continued, the Jongno-gu Office asked the Seoul Metropolitan Government in September 2024 to remove the site from candidacy. In May last year, Seoul deferred canceling the candidacy on the condition that the redevelopment plan be made available for public inspection within a year. Jongno-gu then conducted public inspection of the redevelopment plan in January this year and began tallying opinions from owners of land and other properties in March. As the result fell short of the conditions for withdrawing the proposal, it concluded to continue推进 the project.
Some residents, however, say they find it difficult to accept the decision. Residents opposing public redevelopment submitted a petition to the Jongno-gu Office and the Jongno-gu Council demanding a full reexamination of the project and disclosure of the basis for calculating the opposition rate, and they were also reported to have tipped off the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Even if the area is designated as a redevelopment zone, the project will not immediately get on track. For LH to be designated as the project implementer, consent is needed from owners of at least one-half of the land area and from two-thirds or more of owners of land and other properties. If opposition continues, fresh turmoil could arise at the stage of designating the project implementer.
Public redevelopment projects overall are also stalling. The government initially set a goal of "starting construction within five years," but among the 34 selected candidate sites, only two—Sindong 1 District in Dongdaemun-gu and Geoyeo Saemaeul District in Songpa-gu—have obtained project implementation approval. The areas around 305 Yeongeon-dong in Jongno-gu and 1109 Geumho-dong in Seongdong-gu were dropped from candidacy late last year due to high opposition rates. Geumho 23 District shifted to the fast-track integrated planning process and is pushing redevelopment.
A redevelopment industry official said, "Across public redevelopment candidate sites, there are calls to switch to fast-track integrated planning or private urban complex development," adding, "If residents who view the business feasibility as low are not persuaded, there may not be many business sites that carry the public redevelopment model through to the end."