Ichon 1 District, Sibum Jungsan, and Many Others Under 18㎡
Some Question the Effectiveness
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 14th, the government took a strong measure to block speculation related to the development of the Yongsan Railroad Maintenance Depot site by designating the maintenance depot site and 13 surrounding redevelopment project sites as a 'Land Transaction Permission Zone,' making it impossible to trade land covering 770,000㎡ in the area without the district office's approval. However, doubts have been raised about the effectiveness of the measure as it has been found that many houses with small land shares that can still bypass the regulations exist.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 15th, the newly designated permission zone includes 0.51㎢ of the Yongsan-gu Hangangno-dong railroad maintenance depot site, where a housing complex of about 8,000 households is planned, and 0.26㎢ of 13 redevelopment project sites adjacent to or within the influence area of the site, where development has become visible after the formation of promotion committees, totaling 0.77㎢. From the effective date on the 20th, transactions of houses with land shares exceeding 18㎡ will be null and void unless approved by the Yongsan District Office, the competent authority.
The industry evaluates this as a high-intensity regulation different from before. Including the newly designated area, the total land transaction permission zones in Seoul currently cover 30.27㎢. However, unlike previously designated areas, which were mostly natural greenbelt zones such as the Seocho Bogeumjari District, this time residential and commercial areas are largely included. As a result, the scope of land subject to permission has expanded. For residential areas, any land share exceeding 18㎡, and for commercial areas, 20㎡, requires transaction permission. Compared to the previous criteria of 180㎡ for residential and 200㎡ for commercial areas, this is lowered to one-tenth.
However, on the ground, it is explained that many houses can still avoid the regulations. In fact, in Ichon 2-dong (also known as Seobu Ichon-dong), one of the core areas of this regulation, many properties in the Ichon 1 District housing reconstruction zone have land shares around 12 to 15㎡. A representative from nearby A Real Estate Agency hinted, "Since there are many small-scale houses, even if the government drastically lowers the permission criteria, there are still quite a few houses that can bypass the regulations."
Land Transaction Permission Zone Designation Area around the Railroad Maintenance Depot in Yongsan-gu, Seoul (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)
The same applies to other areas. The Simbeom Jungsan Apartment complex in the same neighborhood, consisting of 228 households, is currently divided by exclusive area into 39㎡ (24 households), 49㎡ (60 households), and 59㎡ (144 households). However, only the 59㎡ units have land shares exceeding 18㎡. In Hangangno-dong, redevelopment projects such as Samgak Mansion and Shinyongsan Station 1 District reportedly have 54 out of 130 households and 48 out of 118 households, respectively, with small land shares, allowing free transactions.
On the other hand, some areas have designated all houses within the maintenance zone as subject to transaction permission. In Hangangno (267 households), Shinyongsan Station North Side 2 District (98 households), and Gukje Building Surrounding 5 District (118 households), all households will be unable to trade without the approval of the Yongsan District Mayor. A representative from B Real Estate in Hangangno-dong said, "Even in designated transaction permission zones, there are houses that can be freely traded depending on land shares, causing mixed feelings."
Regarding this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that there are many means to block speculation besides the designation of permission zones. Since submission of a funding plan is mandatory for housing transactions exceeding 300 million KRW, they plan to conduct focused investigations on actual transactions, including small land share trades, to crack down on violations. The Ministry also explained that if necessary, adjacent areas excluded from this designation could be newly included in the permission zones.
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