[Interview] Lee Sun-hee, Gangbuk District Mayor, "Will Ease Altitude Restrictions on Bukhansan"

"Bukhansan is a pride of Gangbuk-gu, but under the pretext of preserving natural scenery, the property rights of residents in adjacent areas have been infringed upon for over 30 years. We will seek reasonable measures and surely achieve the long-standing wish of Gangbuk-gu to ease the height restrictions."

Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, expressed her determination to ease the height restrictions on Bukhansan and stated that she will lead the development of Gangbuk-gu through this easing.

The reasonable easing of height restrictions on Bukhansan is a key pledge of Mayor Lee Soon-hee, along with attracting the new Gangbuk Line, supporting redevelopment and reconstruction, and operating villa management offices.

The Bukhansan height restriction zone, first designated in December 1990, covers a total area of 3,557,000㎡. Due to this regulation, even if there is a desire to promote maintenance projects within the height restriction zone, they often end up failing.

Bukhansan National Park spans a total of eight cities and districts across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, but only Gangbuk-gu and Dobong-gu are designated as Bukhansan height restriction zones. The mayor said, "In Eunpyeong-gu, which shares the same Bukhansan foothills, apartments close to 15 floors are being built, but Gangbuk-gu is subject to regulations," and added, "We have proposed to Seoul City to allow development up to 15 floors within the height restriction zone."

She also mentioned the necessity of easing regulations, saying, "Although easing height restrictions is an issue that Gangbuk-gu and Dobong-gu must overcome together, about 67% of the height restriction zone area is in Gangbuk-gu, so the residents' desire is even greater." She added, "Every time I hold New Year's meetings or dialogues with residents, they ask when the height restrictions will finally be eased," highlighting the strong aspirations of the residents regarding this matter.

In fact, about 34,000 people participated in a petition demanding the easing of height restriction regulations in Gangbuk-gu held last February.

The mayor said, "The authority to decide on easing the height restriction zone lies with Seoul City, but it is our job to present the urban planning vision and development direction of Gangbuk-gu," and announced that through the '2040 Gangbuk-gu Urban Development Plan Establishment Project,' they will propose reasonable measures to ease the height restrictions.

Jung-gu to Hold Namsan Height Restriction Easing Strategy Briefing on the 6th

For local real estate agents, April 6th at 7 PM, Chungmu Art Center Convention Hall

Detailed explanation of Namsan height restriction easing policy direction and key points of the basic plan study

Sharing policies with frontline real estate agents and blocking the spread of misinformation related to height restrictions

Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) will hold a briefing session on the 'Namsan Height Restriction Reasonable Easing Strategy' for local real estate agents at 7 PM on April 6th at the Chungmu Art Center Convention Hall.

At this briefing, Jung-gu will inform about the issues of Namsan height restrictions under review and the reasonable easing strategies, and share key contents of the research project 'Review and Basic Plan for Namsan Height Restriction Easing,' which started in January. A booklet to help basic understanding of the height restriction zone will also be provided.

The briefing will be conducted directly by the Urban Redevelopment Strategy Promotion Team, which is in charge of the Namsan height restriction easing.

The easing of Namsan height restrictions is the biggest issue in Jung-gu in the first half of the year. Above all, residents within the height restriction zone, who have faced restrictions on exercising property rights for nearly 30 years amid aging residential environments, have higher expectations than ever.

However, recently, content containing inaccurate information has been spreading mainly on some YouTube real estate channels. Especially, sensational titles like 'Namsan Height Restriction Abruptly Abolished' or 'Completely Eased' are stirring investment sentiment, raising concerns that ordinary residents might suffer damages.

Jung-gu plans to use this briefing to share accurate information and progress trends about the Namsan height restriction easing with residents and frontline real estate agencies, thereby preemptively blocking confusion and damage caused by misleading content. Accordingly, the district has sent briefing invitations to all real estate agencies in the area.

Those wishing to attend the briefing must apply by April 5th. Applications can be made by scanning the provided QR code or downloading the application form from the Jung-gu website and sending it via email. Phone applications are also accepted. Attendance is limited to the first 100 applicants.

Kim Gil-seong, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "The production of sensational and unfounded content about the Namsan height restriction should be restrained," and added, "We will transparently inform the issues and realities regarding the height restriction easing, which Jung-gu is focusing on, to suppress excessive expectations and damages caused by information imbalance."