Actively Welcoming the Relaxation of Height Restrictions Around Namsan

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, “The Millennium-Lasting Namsan Village” Now Begins

Relaxation of Namsan Height Restrictions, a Promise of the 8th Elected Administration

District → City Requested Height Restriction Relaxation Last Year... Based on Namsan Terrain Aerial Simulation

Leading the Establishment of Reasonable Height Zones Considering Terrain and Creating a Foundation for Harmonious Development

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District

“We welcome the relaxation of Namsan height restrictions. Now, the district will strive harder so that Huam-dong, Yongsan 2-ga-dong, Itaewon-dong, and Hannam-dong areas in Yongsan can be reborn as a century-old village harmonizing with Namsan.”

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, immediately welcomed the Seoul city government’s announcement on the 30th of last month regarding the ‘New Height Zone Plan around Namsan (Draft)’.

Mayor Park emphasized, “In 1995, 1.85 million square meters adjacent to Namsan were designated as a height-restricted zone, causing difficulties in infrastructure maintenance. Based on residents’ opinions, we will proceed with improvements to highlight the excellent natural scenery of Namsan.”

Residents also expressed their approval. Choi Hoe-jung (61), a resident of Huam-dong, said, “With this relaxation of height restrictions, I expect the residential environment in Donghuam-dong, where infrastructure is old, to improve significantly.”

Donghuam-dong has been increasingly deteriorating due to excessive restrictions on residents’ property rights and loss of development motivation caused by the height zone (below 20m). Meanwhile, Seohuam-dong across the road is undergoing a district unit plan revision with a maximum height of 100m, causing a strong sense of relative deprivation.

The Namsan height zone was first designated by Seoul city in 1995 to protect the Namsan landscape, and Yongsan-gu has 1.85 million square meters adjacent to Namsan designated as a height zone.

The areas of Huam-dong, Yongsan 2-ga, Itaewon-dong, and Hannam-dong in Yongsan-gu designated as height zones are densely populated residential areas naturally formed by North Korean refugees and others after liberation.

Infrastructure such as roads is generally poor, and height restrictions due to the height zone have intensified aging and slum conditions, leading to continuous complaints requesting relaxation of the height zone.

Relaxation of Namsan height restrictions is one of the promises of the 8th elected administration. Mayor Park requested the city last year to reasonably relax height restrictions within a range that does not harm the Namsan landscape, based on an aerial simulation result looking at Yongsan Park from Sowol-gil.

The request includes relaxing a total of 810,000 square meters within the 1.85 million square meters of the entire height zone in the area: 190,000 square meters of Type 1 General Residential Area from the existing 12m or less to 16m or less, and 620,000 square meters of Type 2 General Residential Area (up to 7 floors) from the existing 20m or less to 28m or less.

According to Seoul city’s announcement, the draft for relaxing height restrictions around Namsan will be open for public inspection from July 6 to 20.

Mayor Park Hee-young stated, “We expect most of the requests made by Yongsan-gu to be reflected. We will review the inspection contents, collect residents’ opinions, negotiate with Seoul city, and continue to propose further relaxation of height restrictions.”