Super high-rise buildings will be constructed in the Yeouido financial district in Seoul. By introducing innovative designs and reconstructing buildings, the floor area ratio (FAR) will be relaxed up to a maximum of 1200%, and height regulations will be virtually abolished, making it possible to build super high-rise buildings over 350m tall.
On the 24th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will establish the ‘Yeouido Financial Center District Unit Plan (draft)’ and begin public inspection and announcement from the 25th. Earlier in January, the city declared the creation of an international digital financial district and a Han River-centered global innovation core through the ‘2040 Seoul Urban Basic Plan.’ The newly prepared district unit plan draft is a concrete implementation plan for the announcement made by Mayor Oh Se-hoon during his European trip in March. It targets the eastern Yeouido area (1,120,586㎡), where financial institutions are concentrated, and includes provisions for upgrading zoning districts, providing floor area ratio incentives, and relaxing height restrictions.
Currently, the Yeouido area is densely populated with the Financial Supervisory Service, 28 major securities firms, and financial investment companies. It has developed as a financial center since being designated as a comprehensive financial center in 2009 and a financial specific development promotion district in 2010. However, concerns have been raised about the traditional finance-centered industrial ecosystem, weekend and nighttime desolation due to lack of urban function diversity, vehicle-oriented urban spaces with frequent vehicle entrances and parking lots in outdoor spaces, and a shortage of open and citizen spaces, indicating the need for improvements to create better financial investment conditions.
Accordingly, through this district unit plan, Seoul plans to support the development of an international financial center by ▲ creating financial investment conditions and actively introducing financial functions ▲ diversifying urban functions ▲ establishing a pedestrian-centered urban environment ▲ and creating a world-class waterfront urban landscape.
To this end, considering the current usage and locational characteristics of the Yeouido area, the district unit plan area is divided into four districts (International Financial Center District, Financial Business Support District, Downtown Function Support District, and Downtown Residential Complex District). Each zone has been assigned appropriate spatial planning directions, and the overall spatial plan includes building floor area ratios, heights, and uses.
First, Seoul designated the Financial Specific Development Promotion District within the ‘International Financial Center District’ as an area where zoning can be upgraded from general commercial to central commercial districts. Accordingly, it will become the third central commercial district in Seoul after Myeong-dong and Sangam-dong, with a floor area ratio of up to 1000%. In particular, if eco-friendly, creative, and innovative designs are applied, the FAR can be further relaxed to over 1200%, thereby improving investment conditions.
If the general commercial district is maintained, introducing recommended industries according to the ‘Financial Specific Development Promotion District Promotion Plan’ approved and announced in March will allow a differential relaxation of the floor area ratio up to 1.2 times depending on the introduction ratio, aiming to expand financial-related spaces. Recommended industries include traditional financial sectors such as insurance and banking, as well as fintech industries integrating IT.
In addition, by combining urban functions such as commercial and residential uses along with office facilities, the plan aims to alleviate weekend and nighttime desolation and improve residential environments to support the financial industry. The ‘Financial Business Support District,’ located behind the Financial Specific Development Promotion District, is planned to encourage financial facilities and support facilities as recommended uses to expand small- and medium-sized financial facilities and commercial spaces.
The ‘Downtown Function Support District’ minimizes building use restrictions to allow various locations for public, living convenience, and residential functions necessary for downtown activities. School sites that became invalid in June 2020 can be upgraded from second-class residential areas (up to 7 floors) to quasi-residential areas.
The ‘Downtown Residential Complex District,’ which includes four apartment complexes currently undergoing redevelopment, is designated as a special planning district, providing minimum planning standards to allow separate plans to be established in the future. Additionally, to create a pedestrian-centered, walkable urban environment, open green spaces will be introduced, public pedestrian pathways installed, and a three-dimensional pedestrian network planned centered on railway stations and underground passages. Open green spaces (such as publicly accessible spaces) will be introduced along major streets connecting the Han River and Saetgang to promote a green ecological urban center.
Furthermore, public pedestrian pathways connecting disconnected urban streets and street malls along major streets will create pedestrian-centered street vitality. A three-dimensional pedestrian network will be established by connecting underground spaces of buildings centered on railway stations and underground passages.
Moreover, as a symbolic scenic point along the Han River, the plan aims to induce super high-rise buildings centered on the Financial Specific Development Promotion District (financial center) and form a three-dimensional landscape by introducing creative and innovative designs, enabling the creation of a world-class waterfront urban landscape. Super high-rise buildings over 350m will be encouraged around the Financial Specific Development Promotion District, and height restrictions will be further relaxed. Considering that the current tallest building in Yeouido, Park One, is 333m tall, height regulations within the Financial Specific Development Promotion District are effectively abolished.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will disclose the Yeouido Financial Center District Unit Plan (draft) containing these details to the public through a public inspection announcement until the 8th of next month. After completing strategic environmental impact assessments and traffic impact assessments, the plan will undergo review by the city’s Urban Architecture Joint Committee and is expected to be officially announced by the end of this year.
Cho Nam-jun, Director of the Seoul City Urban Planning Bureau, said, “Yeouido is one of the areas in downtown Seoul where various projects such as the Financial Center District Unit Plan, apartment district unit plans, and the Second Sejong Cultural Center are being simultaneously promoted, requiring flexible planning. We hope that through the Yeouido Financial Center District Unit Plan, Yeouido will break away from a regulation-centered paradigm and leap forward as an international digital financial center.”
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