[8·4 Supply Plan] 50-Story Apartments to Rise in Seoul Through High-Density Development (Comprehensive)

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, to Announce Measures to Expand Housing Supply in the Seoul Metropolitan Area on the 4th

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The government will supply an additional 70,000 households in Seoul alone by strengthening the public nature of redevelopment projects.

Seoul City Eases Floor Area Ratio Up to 500%... Allows Building Height Up to 50 Floors

The core of the housing supply expansion plan announced by the government on the 4th is the introduction of 'public participation high-density reconstruction.' When public entities such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) participate in reconstruction, the current floor area ratio (FAR) limit of 250% for the third residential zone under Seoul city ordinances can be increased to 500%, which is the level of quasi-residential areas. For example, if a complex of 500 households applies a 300% FAR, only 600 households can be built, but if increased to 500%, up to 1,000 households can be constructed. This means the number of households can be doubled through reconstruction. In this case, the building height limit of 35 floors in residential areas will also be raised to a maximum of 50 floors. The government plans to supply 50,000 households in Seoul over five years by strengthening the public nature of reconstruction through this method.

However, 50-70% of the increased floor area ratio will be recovered through donation of housing units. When applying a 300% FAR, only about 50 rental units needed to be donated in a 500-household complex, but if high-density reconstruction is chosen, the association must donate 250 housing units. Instead, the donated units will be split evenly between rental and sale. Detailed standards will be prepared by Seoul City by applying an inverse proportion between the net increase in housing units and the donation rate. Half of the donated housing units obtained through high-density reconstruction will be long-term public rental housing, and the rest will be supplied to the homeless, newlyweds, youth, and others.

The types of public participation reconstruction are divided into 'public management method,' where the public supports financing and design, and 'equity participation method,' where the association shares equity. The association can participate in the desired method with the consent of two-thirds of the owners.

To maximize residential space, the current 90% residential ratio limit in quasi-residential areas and the mandatory park installation regulation will also be eased. However, the current plan does not include exemption from the price ceiling system for public reconstruction participation.

Active Promotion of Public Redevelopment in New Town Deregulated Areas

Along with this, Seoul City plans to supply an additional 20,000 housing units by 2023 through revitalizing 'public redevelopment projects' in planned and deregulated maintenance areas. Public redevelopment projects involve public implementers (such as SH and LH) participating in redevelopment or residential environment improvement projects to promote housing supply in urban areas, first introduced in the 5th and 6th housing plans. Associations participating in this project will receive four major types of public support: ▲urban regulation relaxation (such as zoning and FAR increases) ▲guarantee of project feasibility ▲financial support ▲and expedited permits and approvals.

In particular, Seoul City has expanded the scope to include planned maintenance areas and deregulated maintenance areas, which were not originally included. Currently, there are 176 places in Seoul that were designated as maintenance areas such as New Town but were deregulated due to project delays and other reasons. Of these, 82% (145 places) are located in northern districts such as Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk.

Seoul City plans to actively promote public redevelopment and encourage participation in candidate site recruitment projects by starting 'on-site briefing sessions.' They will secure momentum for project promotion through related organizational restructuring. For existing redevelopment areas, briefing sessions will be held by autonomous districts starting with Dongdaemun-gu on the 13th, and a joint briefing session for new planned maintenance areas undergoing redevelopment procedures will be held the next day on the 14th.

A Seoul City official explained, "LH and SH will participate as public implementers and support the rapid promotion of redevelopment projects by providing incentives."