Seoul Reconstruction in Motion... The Four Kings Take the Lead

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Major reconstruction complexes in Seoul that had long failed to gain momentum have begun to stir. As reconstruction projects in highly market-attractive locations and scales such as Apgujeong Apartment District and Jamsil Jugong Complex 5 simultaneously enter full swing, both expectations and concerns arise.

According to the maintenance industry on the 17th, representative reconstruction complexes in Seoul such as Yeouido Shibeom, Apgujeong Hyundai, Jamsil Jugong Complex 5, and Daechi Eunma are all accelerating their project pace. These complexes are located along the Han River or in key areas of Seoul, earning them the nickname "Seoul's biggest reconstruction targets."

The fastest progress is seen in Jamsil Jugong Complex 5 in Songpa-gu. The maintenance plan was approved yesterday by the Seoul City Urban Planning Committee's delegated subcommittee. It has been seven years since the association created the maintenance plan. The maintenance plan serves as the blueprint for the reconstruction project, including the number of households, floor area ratio, and number of floors, and must be approved to officially start the reconstruction project.

The significance of this maintenance plan approval lies in the recognition of 50 floors. Jamsil Jugong Complex 5, located along the Han River and spanning a station area, included a plan to upgrade the land use zone to quasi-residential and build up to 50 floors, which the city approved without changes. This breaks the so-called "35-floor rule," which former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon had imposed through the "2030 Seoul Plan," limiting Han River apartments to 35 floors.

Reconstruction is also gaining momentum in Yeongdeungpo-gu Yeouido Shibeom and apartments around Apgujeong-dong in Gangnam-gu, both located along the Han River. Yeouido Shibeom was among the first complexes to join Seoul City's Rapid Integrated Planning (SinTong Planning). SinTong Planning is a system where Seoul City participates from the maintenance plan establishment stage to support project promotion. Through this, reconstruction can reduce the time from maintenance zone designation to maintenance plan approval by about half. Essentially, these projects come under Seoul City's management. Among the Apgujeong Apartment District, the largest in scale is Apgujeong District 3 (Hyundai 1?7th phases, 10th, 13th, 14th phases, Daerim Villate) with 4,065 households, and Districts 2 and 5 are awaiting participation in SinTong Planning.

Daechi-dong Eunma Apartments in Gangnam-gu are also expected to follow this trend and reattempt the maintenance plan review. Although the maintenance plan has already been drafted for Eunma Apartments, it has not passed Seoul City's review. Since the establishment of the reconstruction association promotion committee in 2003, the association itself has not been formed for 19 years, effectively stagnating the project amid deep conflicts among owners.

Once these major complexes are reconstructed, the supply effect is expected to be significant. According to the maintenance plan, Jamsil Jugong Complex 5 alone will supply nearly 3,000 households in a prime Jamsil location, excluding the current number of households. Eunma Apartments, if reconstructed to 35 floors, will have 5,905 households, and if reconstructed to 49 floors, 6,054 households. This means an increase of up to 1,600 households compared to the current 4,424 households.

The market views the reconstruction as a normalization process since it had been delayed without reason, but voices also warn that the simultaneous acceleration of these large-scale reconstruction complexes could stimulate housing prices. An industry insider said, "The market's high interest sometimes caused the project to stall to avoid fueling house price increases," adding, "If it is a task that can no longer be postponed, it is time to strategically adjust the reconstruction timing while also increasing the project speed."