Selected Sites for 5th Phase of Urban Public Housing: 'Seoul Seodaemun and Gyeonggi Bucheon'

11,200 Housing Units Supplied... Gangnam Area Excluded Again
Government Target at One-Quarter Level... Low Resident Consent Rate in Candidate Sites Too

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] A total of six locations, including Seodaemun-gu in Seoul and Bucheon-si in Gyeonggi Province, have been additionally selected as candidates for the ‘Urban Public Housing Complex Project.’ Approximately 11,200 housing units are expected to be built in these areas through high-density development.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 23rd that out of 19 candidate sites proposed by Seodaemun-gu in Seoul and Bucheon-si in Gyeonggi Province, a total of six sites (three transit-oriented areas, one semi-industrial area, and two low-rise residential areas)?one in Seodaemun-gu and five in Bucheon-si?were selected as the 5th Urban Public Housing Complex Project candidates. According to the Ministry, a total of 11,206 housing units will be supplied through the development of these six selected candidate sites.

Low-rise residential area in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

◇Only one site in Seoul, none yet in Gangnam= In Seoul, the only candidate site selected was a low-rise residential area of 114,770㎡ west of Goeunsan in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu. This area has experienced long-term development stagnation since being removed from the maintenance planned zone in April 2013. Through high-density development, a total of 2,975 housing units will be supplied.

East side of Jungdong Station, Jungdong, Bucheon.

In Bucheon, high-density development is planned for three transit-oriented areas near Sosa Station north side (1,282 units), Jungdong Station east side (1,680 units), and Jungdong Station west side (1,766 units). Additionally, the semi-industrial area south of Songnae Station (2,173 units) and the low-rise residential area north of Wonmi Intersection (1,330 units) were also selected as candidate sites.

West side of Sangdong Jungdong Station, Bucheon.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that an analysis of the project effects for the six 5th candidate sites showed that the floor area ratio increased by an average of 65 percentage points compared to pursuing independent development. The number of housing units supplied is also analyzed to increase by an average of about 420 units (29.0%) per district. Regarding landowner profits, it was added that since the priority sale price is predicted to be about 61% of the market price on average, the landowners’ profit rate is expected to improve by an average of 21 percentage points.

Seoul applied the same location criteria as the previous 1st to 4th announcements, while the Gyeonggi area was designated based on urban conditions, defining areas within a 500m radius of stations as transit-oriented zones and low-rise residential areas with more than 50% of buildings older than 20 years as target sites, the Ministry explained. However, the Gangnam area of Seoul, which has been a market focus, was again not included among the candidate sites.

◇Only a quarter of the target achieved... Government says "No problem"= The government also announced that among the 46 candidate sites from the 1st to 4th rounds, 21 sites have secured the resident consent rate of 10%, which is the requirement for designation as a project zone. These include four sites in Dobong-gu, four in Yeongdeungpo-gu, eight in Eunpyeong-gu, four in Gangbuk-gu, and one in Nam-gu, Daegu, mostly from the 1st round candidates announced on March 31. The planned supply scale is 29,505 housing units, accounting for 49.2% of the volume announced so far. Additionally, the east side of Ssangmun Station in Dobong and the Bulgwang Neighborhood Park area in Eunpyeong-gu have secured two-thirds resident consent, fulfilling the designation requirements for four sites in total (including Jeungsan 4 district and Susaek 14 district) with a total scale of 7,180 housing units.

The total supply scale announced up to the 5th round is 71,248 housing units, which is about 23% of the government’s target of 306,000 units to be supplied through the Urban Public Housing Complex Project under the ‘2·4 Housing Supply Plan.’ Among these, sites meeting the designation requirements have only reached 9.6% of the overall target during the four months since the 2·4 Plan. In particular, among the 21 sites from the 1st round, four sites?including three in Dobong-gu (near Banghak Elementary School in Banghak 2-dong, around Chang-dong 674, near Chang 2-dong Community Center) and one in Eunpyeong-gu (west side of Saejeol Station)?have yet to secure the 10% resident consent rate.

The government maintains that there is no problem. Kim Susang, Director of the Housing and Land Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Preparations for the start of the main project and realization of supply targets are progressing smoothly, such as the passage of the legal amendment related to the 2·4 Plan through the standing committee on the 18th," adding, "We will actively support the swift promotion of the project to respond to residents’ support."