[News Spot] Yongsan-gu's 'Samgak Mansion' Accelerates Redevelopment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] 'Samgak Mansion (original spelling, standard spelling is Samgak Mansion)' is a two-building residential-commercial complex apartment located about 400 meters from the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. It is a six-story building with 130 households, completed in July 1970, making it a 53-year-old aging building this year.

Samgakji was a fairly affluent neighborhood in downtown Seoul during the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, a six-story residential-commercial complex apartment was rare and known as a place where wealthy people lived. The address of Samgak Mansion is 'Hangang-daero 62-gil,' but before the new address system was introduced, it was called 'Baeho-gil.' The street was named in honor of the late singer Baeho, who was known as the 'Rotating Samgakji,' but even that has now faded into history.

Exterior view of Samgak Mansion.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Around Samgak Mansion, several public institutions such as the Ministry of National Defense and the ROK-US Combined Forces Command were located, and thanks to them, many well-known restaurants and confectionery shops thrived. These include the original 'Won Daegu Tang,' 'Pyeongyangjip,' the pork restaurant 'Samgakjeong' across the street, and the 'Kim Yong-an Confectionery,' which has been in business since 1967 and is famous to almost everyone.

Yongsan-gu announced on the 22nd that it will issue a service bid notice within this month, select a service company, and establish a maintenance plan. Based on the service results, it plans to request the designation of a maintenance zone for the target site to the Seoul Metropolitan Government by next year. This means accelerating redevelopment around Samgak Mansion.

Yongsan-gu designated this area as a maintenance planned zone in 2016, but the redevelopment project did not progress because Korea Electric Power Corporation, which owns about 41% of the zone area, did not participate in the project.

A Yongsan-gu official said, "Since it is an aging building with safety risks, we plan to prepare a proactive maintenance plan through the service and revitalize the surrounding commercial district through prompt maintenance," adding, "The related plans and budget were already prepared last year, and there will be no disruption to the project due to the Presidential Office relocation or restrictions on development in the area."