"Core Religious Facility in Maintenance Project Conflict" City to Prepare New Alternative After 11 Years

(Maintenance project reference photo)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has embarked on finding a new solution after 11 years regarding the compensation issue for religious facilities, a core conflict element within maintenance project sites. By the first half of next year, an in-depth survey on the actual conditions related to compensation for religious facilities within maintenance project sites in Seoul will be conducted to diagnose problems and prepare concrete alternatives for reasonable consultation and adjustment.

According to the maintenance industry on the 13th, Seoul will begin an actual condition survey next month on the handling of compensation for religious facilities within redevelopment and reconstruction projects implemented under the Urban Maintenance Act in Seoul. This is to review the compensation status of religious facilities within maintenance project sites over the past five years and to propose alternatives such as standardization measures.

Until now, the only guide when conflicts over compensation for religious facilities occurred in reconstruction and redevelopment project sites in Seoul was the "Seoul New Town District Religious Facility Handling Guidelines" created by the city in September 2009. This guideline includes provisions that religious facilities should be prioritized for preservation when establishing redevelopment promotion plans, and relocation should be considered only if unavoidable. It also states that the association bears the construction costs equivalent to the total floor area of the current religious facility building and the costs for securing temporary religious activity locations in case of relocation. However, this guideline is also principle-based and non-binding, leading to sharp conflicts over detailed matters depending on the project site.

Due to the lack of appropriate guidelines, conflicts related to compensation for religious facilities have prolonged, causing repeated project delays. For example, the Hongje Station Harrington Place in Seodaemun-gu delayed its sales schedule by about a year due to compensation issues with a church within the district. The Mido Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, is currently proceeding with the maintenance project excluding the church after conflicts over compensation.

The city plans to conduct an in-depth survey on when and through what processes consultations and adjustments between associations and religious facilities took place at each project stage. It will examine at which stages?such as maintenance plans, project implementation plans, and management disposition plans?consultations were reflected according to the types of religious facilities within the project sites, as well as the consultation periods and methods. Compensation costs such as construction costs, land compensation, new construction, and temporary worship sites will also be compared item by item. The city plans to meticulously analyze the actual compensation ratio compared to appraisal evaluations for loss compensation, which is a major cause of project delays.

A Seoul city official said, "After conducting an actual condition survey on compensation timing and amounts by district, we will first prepare basic data and then explore alternatives for smooth progress. We plan to start related services next month and produce results by the first half of next year."