The Seoul Metropolitan Government is reportedly considering a plan to promote the redevelopment of Guryong Village in Gangnam-gu, which has been left as an unauthorized shantytown, as a 100% publicly developed project. There is also discussion about expanding the originally planned supply of 2,838 households into a large-scale complex with over 3,600 households through high-density development.
Fire trucks are having difficulty accessing the 4th district of Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where a fire broke out on the morning of the 20th of last month. [Photo by Yonhap News]
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) on the 7th, they are reportedly discussing switching the long-stalled redevelopment project of Guryong Village, which has been drifting for 12 years, to a public development and moving forward with the project in earnest. It is interpreted that the project will be promoted as a 100% public development to expedite the process.
In addition, SH has reportedly requested Seoul to increase the floor area ratio and the number of floors to expand the scale beyond the existing plan, allowing it to become a large complex with more than 3,600 households. Seoul said it is currently discussing this and nothing has been finalized yet.
Guryong Village is an unauthorized shantytown formed by demolition victims who were displaced from their homes ahead of the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It is located on the northern foothills of Guryongsan Mountain, which is how it got its name. However, due to exposure to various disasters such as a fire that occurred on the 20th of last month, as well as poor living conditions caused by sewage, waste, and other issues, redevelopment discussions have continued.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has mentioned that the fundamental solution to the repeated fires is the 'redevelopment project.' During the tenure of former Mayor Park Won-soon, in June 2020, the city announced a project plan to build 2,838 apartments (1,107 rental units, 991 public sale units, 740 private sale units) along with infrastructure such as roads, parks, and schools.
Some of the housing units are expected to include ‘land leasehold’ type housing promoted by SH. The land leasehold method is a housing model where the land is publicly owned and only the buildings are sold. SH, the implementing agency, is expected to soon announce and begin the land compensation process. The compensation procedure will be conducted based on the publicly announced price according to the appraisal.
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