Including 85㎡ in Donation Targets
Incentives Expanded but
Residents of Reconstruction Complexes
Still Negative About Project Participation
A panoramic view of Eunma Apartment located in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The government and ruling party have prepared legislation related to the public reconstruction project, which was announced as part of the August 4 supply plan. Although the scope of incentives and regulatory relaxations was expanded beyond the party's original plan, including the inclusion of medium-sized apartments of 85㎡ (exclusive area) as targets for donation, residents of frontline reconstruction complexes still show negative attitudes toward participating in the project.
According to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th, Assemblyman Chun Junho of the Democratic Party of Korea officially proposed a revision bill to the "Act on Maintenance and Improvement of Urban Areas and Dwelling Conditions" containing regulations related to public reconstruction. Public reconstruction is a reconstruction method where public entities such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) participate in implementation, allowing the floor area ratio to be increased up to 500%, with 50-70% of the increased floor area ratio recovered as a donation.
The revision bill expands the donation housing size from the current limit of 60㎡ or less to the national housing standard size of 85㎡.
A plan was also established for public reconstruction sites to receive benefits from designation as special architectural districts. Special architectural districts are zones introduced to eliminate uniform urban appearances and create urban landscapes through creative architecture. When designated as a special architectural district, various regulations such as building spacing, landscaping, and sunlight rights are relaxed.
The scope of public reconstruction targets was also expanded. Initially, the condition for public reconstruction was complexes where the number of houses would more than double through reconstruction, but the revision bill relaxes this to cases where the number of units supplied meets or exceeds a threshold set by enforcement ordinances considering floor area ratio, land area, and infrastructure status. This broadens the target to include complexes with high existing density where the number of houses does not double. Additionally, the bill includes measures to relax regulations on securing urban parks and green spaces and to simplify approval procedures.
However, market reactions remain cold. In Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu’s Eunma Apartment and Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu’s Jugong 5 Complex, which initially attracted attention by requesting preliminary consultations for public reconstruction from the government, conflicts among residents over public reconstruction have even emerged. The Eunma Reconstruction Promotion Committee is considering withdrawing its application for preliminary consultation due to repeated opposition from residents. A representative of the Eunma Apartment Owners’ Association said, "We understand that the promotion committee has already verbally requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to stop the consultation." The promotion committee explained, "We are discussing internally whether to withdraw."
The situation is similar in Jugong 5 Complex in Jamsil. Recently, some union members formed an "Opposition Group Against Jamsil 5 Complex Public Reconstruction" and started collective actions, planning to push for the dismissal of the union leader if public reconstruction continues. Jung Bok-moon, the reconstruction union leader, recently announced through a notice, "We only applied for consultation because we need to continue communication with Seoul City for permits," and added, "We have no plans to participate in public reconstruction."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
