Galhyeon 1 District, Almost Became 'Chopuma'... Considering Additional Plan for 300 Apartment Units

Galhyeon 1 District, Confirmed Considering Shift to 'Chopuma' Complex Plan
Association Passed 'School Site Release' Resolution at July Regular General Meeting
Western Education Office Responded in August with 'School Site Release Justified' Review Opinion
Some Association Members Still Oppose... Future Direction in Focus

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] Galhyeon 1 District, which was almost reborn as a 'Chopuma (an apartment complex with an elementary school within)', is considering a plan to cancel the elementary school site and build 300 more apartment units.

On the 30th, it was confirmed that the Galhyeon 1 District union is reviewing a plan to cancel the school site in the existing maintenance plan and add about 300 apartment units there. Galhyeon 1 District is located in 300 Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, and is planned to be reborn as a large complex with 4,124 households, ranging from 6 basement floors to 22 above-ground floors. The project is currently in the relocation phase during the progress.

Discussions related to this had already been underway even before the Galhyeon 1 District union shifted away from the 'Chopuma' complex plan. Although the union had already secured a school site of 7,752㎡, the Seoul Western Education Support Office asked the union last year whether it could secure the appropriate area of 15,315㎡ for the school site. This was because when establishing a new school, it must go through the Ministry of Education’s central investment review, which requires securing a certain area based on budget allocation standards. As securing additional land could reduce the number of units for sale, the union’s delegates concluded that securing the land was impossible, and the possibility of canceling the school site emerged. Some union members opposed this move.

Eventually, the union held a regular general meeting in July and passed the original proposal to 'cancel the school site'. Subsequently, in August, the Western Education Support Office responded with a review opinion stating that 'canceling the school site is reasonable,' which seems to have given more momentum to the discussion. The Western Education Support Office sent an opinion that canceling the school site was reasonable due to insufficient demand for a new school and based on the union general meeting’s resolution. A representative from the Western Education Support Office explained, "Although the site is small, this decision was made comprehensively because it was decided at the union members’ general meeting." They added, "In 2018, conditional approval was given for the school site, but there was a condition to review it again when the development project proceeded," and "One of the reasons is the significant difference in the number of students expected at the time of move-in compared to four years ago."

However, some union members still express opposition to the union’s plan to cancel the school site, so attention is focused on which direction the union’s plan will take in the future. The Western Education Support Office stated, "Although not as much as before the union general meeting, there are still complaints from union members requesting the establishment of a school."