Safety Inspection Passed for 5 Complexes Including Songpa-gu Olympic Athletes' Village, Boosting Reconstruction Prospects

Songpa-gu’s ‘Olympic Family’ Confirmed for Reconstruction, Followed by ‘Olympic Athlete Village,’ ‘Hanyang 1st,’ ‘Pungnap Miseong,’ and ‘Pungnap Geukdong’ Passing Safety Inspections One After Another

Seo Gang-seok, District Mayor: “We will swiftly promote reconstruction to create a pleasant and livable premium city.”

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Due to deregulation actively requested by Songpa-gu, five apartment complexes in the area, including the Olympic Athlete Village apartments, have passed safety inspections, accelerating reconstruction projects.

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that four apartment complexes in the area that had received conditional reconstruction judgments (Olympic Athlete Village, Hanyang 1st, Pungnap Miseong, and Pungnap Geukdong apartments) have passed safety inspections. As a result, a total of five complexes in Songpa-gu will be able to proceed with reconstruction this year.

These areas had difficulties in advancing projects due to safety inspection regulations despite exceeding the 30-year reconstruction eligibility period.

Previously, Songpa-gu selected ‘Rapid Promotion of Redevelopment and Reconstruction’ as a key pledge in the 8th local government term, and continuously requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to ease regulations by lowering the weight of structural safety scores from 50% to 30%, and by making the mandatory public institution appropriateness review process an exception to be conducted only when necessary.

Accordingly, Songpa-gu explained that two of its proposals were reflected in the government’s safety inspection standard relaxation policy announced in December last year, enabling delayed maintenance projects to proceed more quickly and smoothly.

In particular, the Olympic Athlete Village (completed in 1988), Hanyang 1st (completed in 1983), Pungnap Miseong (completed in 1985), and Pungnap Geukdong (completed in 1987) apartments had long-standing reconstruction needs due to aging and deteriorating residential environments. However, they had been unable to accelerate reconstruction after receiving a ‘conditional reconstruction’ judgment (Grade D) in the first detailed safety inspection.

Previously, receiving a ‘conditional reconstruction’ judgment (Grade D) required mandatory appropriateness review by a public institution. However, with the relaxation of safety inspection standards this year, local governments can review whether to request the appropriateness review, and if no particular defects are found, the review may be waived.

Accordingly, from February 10 for five days, the district held a safety inspection advisory committee to determine whether to request appropriateness review for the four apartment complexes, exercising the district mayor’s authority. After thorough examination based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s checklist, the committee agreed that appropriateness review was unnecessary, confirming reconstruction for the Olympic Athlete Village, Hanyang 1st, and Pungnap Miseong complexes. However, for Pungnap Geukdong, reconstruction confirmation will be notified after minor supplementary measures are implemented.

Additionally, at the end of last month, Olympic Family Town received an ‘E grade’ in the detailed safety inspection, leading to immediate reconstruction confirmation without additional review procedures.

Furthermore, the Asia Athlete Village, currently undergoing the second detailed safety inspection, is expected to complete the assessment by the end of May, when the possibility of reconstruction will be determined. The district expects that a total of six complexes will be eligible for reconstruction this year.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “I am pleased that five complexes in the district have finally passed safety inspections thanks to the relaxed standards we proposed, accelerating reconstruction projects. We will continue to actively communicate with residents and work closely with Seoul City and related ministries to support the swift promotion of reconstruction projects in Songpa-gu.”