[Interview] Lee Soon-hee, Gangbuk District Mayor, "Actively Supporting Housing Maintenance Projects to Improve Residential Environment"

Active Administration for Rapid Promotion of Maintenance Projects... Seoul's First Case 'Kkuchun'
Development Momentum in Bukhansan Height District... Securing Business Feasibility through Deregulation

"Visible changes are beginning in Gangbuk-gu, which was previously a redevelopment neglected area. Beondong Districts 1 to 5, the first Moa Town in Seoul, are scheduled to begin construction this year, and various maintenance projects are actively underway throughout the region. We will actively support these projects to ensure their smooth progress."

Through an interview, Lee Soon-hee, the Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, expressed that the achievements made through efforts to improve the residential environment are gradually becoming apparent, and reaffirmed a firm commitment to supporting housing maintenance projects.

Support for housing maintenance projects such as redevelopment and reconstruction is one of the five core pledges put forward by Mayor Lee. Upon taking office, she immediately established a Redevelopment and Reconstruction Support Team directly under the mayor's office to explore directions for promoting maintenance projects. Subsequently, a Residential Maintenance Division was created to exclusively handle maintenance projects, providing unwavering support not only for redevelopment and reconstruction but also for small-scale housing maintenance projects like Moa Town.

Proactive administration for swift promotion of maintenance projects... Consistent first cases in Seoul

Thanks to these efforts, Gangbuk-gu has consistently seen first cases in Seoul related to support for maintenance projects. A representative example is the tenant compensation measures for Beondong Districts 1 to 5, Seoul's first Moa Town. This district was not subject to tenant protection measures established under the revised "Seoul City Vacant House and Small-scale Housing Maintenance Ordinance" because the integrated review for the district was approved in April 2022, prior to the establishment of the measures in October 2022. Accordingly, at the stage of approving the project implementation plan, the district office actively recommended the association prepare tenant protection measures, and currently, procedures related to relocation compensation are underway.

Earlier, in July last year, to simultaneously manage Beondong 411 area and Suyu-dong 52-1 area, the district applied for the first time in Seoul the method of appointing and operating a Master Planner for Moa Town. This was to establish the overall development direction of the two districts and systematically formulate plans including appropriateness reviews.

Additionally, from February 27, the district decided to implement, for the first time in Seoul, the public attorney observation system within small-scale housing maintenance project districts in Moa Town, which had previously only applied to redevelopment and reconstruction under the "Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Act." Through this, public attorneys will observe general meetings and delegate councils of small-scale housing maintenance projects to proactively respond to and support issues such as resident conflicts and project delays.

Moreover, in November last year, Mayor Lee enacted the first ordinance in Seoul supporting maintenance projects (Seoul Special City Gangbuk-gu Ordinance on Support for Maintenance Projects), concretizing support measures. Based on this, the district will establish a "Basic Plan for Residential Maintenance" covering the entire district starting from the end of March. Through this plan, after analyzing the characteristics of residential areas, the district intends to proactively set maintenance directions by type suited to these characteristics to support the swift promotion of projects. Gangbuk-gu is the first basic local government to prepare a comprehensive residential maintenance plan for the entire region.

Development momentum in Bukhansan Height District... Securing project feasibility through deregulation

Changes are also beginning gradually within the Bukhansan Height District, where residential environment improvement is urgently needed. The plan is to transform this area into a premium residential complex embracing nature once regulations in the Bukhansan Height District are eased.

The deregulation plan for the Bukhansan Height District is expected to be finalized in the first half of this year after re-notification and other procedures. The original plan was to relax the height restriction in the Type 2 General Residential Area from 20m to 28m, and further ease restrictions up to 15 floors (45m) during maintenance projects. However, in January this year, additional measures were added to relax height restrictions in the Type 1 General Residential Area to 45m during maintenance projects, matching the Type 2 area, and to allow an average height of 45m in station areas (district center or higher, within 250m of platform boundary) when maintenance projects are pursued.

Mayor Lee said, "We have made every effort, both materially and spiritually, in cooperation with Seoul City, members of the National Assembly, and district and city council members to ease regulations in the Bukhansan Height District, a long-standing wish of residents, and we will finally see the results in the first half of this year." She anticipates that the "Pine Cooperative Village Residential Environment Improvement District" located in Mia-dong 791-2882 will be the first beneficiary. This district was selected as a candidate for the second round of rapid integrated planning for housing redevelopment in December 2022. The district office is currently conducting a service for establishing maintenance plans and designating maintenance plan districts, aiming to complete this service by December 2025 and announce the first development blueprint within the Bukhansan Height District.

Furthermore, the area around Suyu-dong 486 within the height district is planned to undergo a preliminary feasibility study for housing maintenance projects around April. Although this district failed three times in rapid integrated planning and public redevelopment project competitions in December 2021, August 2022, and December 2022, the strong resident will for maintenance projects led the district to collaborate with Seoul City to proceed with the preliminary feasibility study service.

Mayor Lee emphasized, "The most important factor in maintenance projects is the will of the residents. To support this, it is also crucial to help residents resolve obstacles that arise during project promotion, such as rising construction costs, contributions, and conflicts within associations."

To this end, Gangbuk-gu holds resident briefings from the early stages of maintenance projects to provide landowners and others with various information about the projects. It also offers guidance on project procedures, conflict and dispute mediation through programs such as the "Maintenance Project Academy" and "Redevelopment and Reconstruction On-site Consultation Center."

Mayor Lee said, "While residents are the main agents of maintenance projects, administrative support has become increasingly important as projects diversify. Given the strong aspirations of residents, the district will actively support projects to ensure they proceed swiftly and smoothly."