The Seoul Metropolitan Government reiterated its existing stance opposing the use of greenbelts for supplying dwellings in response to the government's plan "rapid supply of dwellings to stabilize the jeonse, monthly rent, and sales markets," released on the 13th. It said regulatory improvements had made some progress, noting that the consent rate for redevelopment has been eased from the previous 75% to 70% and that relocation loan terms have been improved. It also asked for a review of the uniformly applied owner-occupancy requirement to reflect various circumstances such as workplace moves and children's education.
The city said this in a news release after the government released its plan for the "rapid supply of dwellings to stabilize the jeonse, monthly rent, and sales markets" that day.
On the government's review of using greenbelts in Seoul, the city said, "In principle, lifting greenbelt designations is difficult to accept, and we are maintaining our existing position," adding, "Since specific candidate sites have not been disclosed so far, Seoul's urban planning and residential conditions must be fully considered during the subsequent process."
The city also emphasized, "Using green space, an asset for future generations, to supply dwellings should be a last resort, and activating redevelopment and reconstruction in the urban core, where jobs and transport and living infrastructure are in place, is the most direct and effective supply measure for Seoul's housing demand." In reviewing new housing sites, it asked for a cautious approach that considers the supply effects of renewal projects, Seoul's urban planning, and the value of conserving green space.
On the direction of expanding public dwelling supply, it said it "agrees with the overall direction," but added that "there are differences from the city's position on some project implementation methods and site selection, requiring further consultation and review." It stressed that creating public housing sites and urban supply projects must reflect urban planning, infrastructure, and local acceptance comprehensively, rather than simply expanding volume, to lead to actual supply.
It also said that, in the process of selecting new candidate sites for the urban public dwelling complex project, it was not clearly confirmed whether areas the city identified as needing exclusion were reflected, and requested thorough prior consultations with the city from before sites are finalized.
On the Yongsan international business district, it said balancing international business and residential functions, expanding infrastructure such as schools, and ensuring local community acceptance should come first.
The city said the measures reflect items it had long proposed, including easing the consent rate for establishing redevelopment associations and improving how the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for relocation loans is calculated.
The government's measures include lowering the consent rate for establishing redevelopment associations from 75% to 70%, easing conditions for negotiated contracts when selecting builders, and partially easing standards for mandatory provision of parks and green space. They also include making the acquisition price of public-contribution rental dwellings more realistic and expanding financial support for project financing (PF).
However, the city called for further improvements, saying the measures omitted easing restrictions on transferring association membership, raising floor area ratios for private renewal projects, and adjusting mandatory ratios for rental dwellings in redevelopment.
It also said relocation loans should not stop at improving calculation methods and that specific LTV application standards must be prepared quickly to actually reduce residents' burdens.
The city explained that, because available housing sites are limited in Seoul, redevelopment and reconstruction are the main means of large-scale dwelling supply, and improving both project profitability and transaction conditions is necessary to enhance supply effects.
On the government's measures for private rentals and financial support, it said they could help increase the capacity to supply private dwellings. But it noted that if the tax system and owner-occupancy requirements remain unchanged, the effect on expanding private rental supply and stabilizing the jeonse and monthly rent markets could be limited. The government released measures to expand PF guarantees, ease LTV for buyers and lessors who purchase newly built dwellings, and relax lending regulations when purchasing dwellings slated for demolition for dwelling construction.
The city particularly requested a reassessment of related systems, including the tax reform plan released on the 3rd, saying there are limits to regulating diverse residential circumstances such as workplace moves and children's education with uniform owner-occupancy standards.
Meanwhile, the city is promoting renewal projects through the fast-track integrated planning process, project profitability adjustment coefficients, recognition of current floor area ratios, and easing public-contribution burdens. If carried out as planned, up to 310,000 homes will break ground across 253 renewal project zones in Seoul by 2031. Even excluding demolished existing dwellings, the city expects a net increase of about 87,000 homes.
An analysis of 59 renewal projects completed in Seoul over the past three years found that redevelopment increased by about 7,000 homes, or 27.4%, and reconstruction by about 13,000 homes, or 44.2%. Overall, there was a net increase of about 20,000 homes, or 36.4%.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said, "It is fortunate that the government recognized the need to smoothly push ahead with redevelopment and reconstruction and accepted some of the institutional improvement tasks that the city has continuously proposed," adding, "With these measures, the center of dwelling policy should shift from suppressing demand to stabilizing the market by sufficiently expanding supply."
He added, "Seoul will focus all administrative capacity to achieve the goal of breaking ground on 310,000 homes by 2031 without delay," and said, "We will actively cooperate with the government where we can, but we will clearly demand unreflected regulatory improvements based on voices from the field and take a cautious approach to damaging green space."