Choi Jaeran, Seoul City Council Member, "Fundamental Measures Needed for Issues Like Namsan Town Remodeling Disapproval"

"Mixed Complex Redevelopment Measures Combining Sale and Rental Units Nonexistent"
"Namsan Town Apartment Seoul City and Jung-gu Office Shift Responsibility"
"Ministry of Land and Seoul City Must Prepare Before It's Too Late"

Choi Jae-ran, Seoul City Council member. Photo by Seoul City Council.

The NamSan Town Apartment remodeling association establishment was denied approval by Jung-gu Office, raising concerns about the need for measures to address maintenance projects due to aging in mixed housing complexes, which consist of 35 sale housing buildings (3,116 households) and 7 rental housing buildings (2,034 households).

According to Choi Jae-ran, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party, proportional representation), at the 323rd Housing and Space Committee meeting held on the 29th of last month, she raised this issue with the Director of the Seoul Housing Policy Office and urged active solutions.

NamSan Town Apartment was selected as a Seoul-type remodeling pilot complex in 2018 and received a subsidy of 300 million KRW to complete the basic design and feasibility study. However, since the association establishment approval was applied for securing only the consent rate of sale housing excluding rental housing, Jung-gu Office denied the approval, making the project progress uncertain.

At the time of the initial pilot complex selection and the 2019 residents’ briefing session, the basic design was made to promote remodeling targeting only sale housing excluding rental housing, so residents say they cannot understand Jung-gu Office’s decision.

Jung-gu Office explained that since both sale and rental housing must be included, the position of Seoul City, the owner of the rental housing, is important. They denied approval because Seoul City opposes remodeling of rental housing. According to Councilor Choi, Seoul City repeatedly says it is a matter for Jung-gu Office to decide, thus avoiding the decision.

Councilor Choi said, “Seoul City is pursuing a complete social mix beyond expanding mixed housing and separating existing buildings or lines. Without standards for maintenance projects such as remodeling and reconstruction for mixed housing complexes, remodeling of mixed complexes will obviously become more difficult.” He argued, “Taking NamSan Town Apartment as a lesson, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or Seoul City must actively prepare before it is too late.”

Councilor Choi pointed out, “To establish a remodeling association, consent from more than two-thirds of the unit owners is required. As of August 2023, about 30% of mixed housing complexes managed by SH Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation cannot meet the conditions for association establishment because the ratio of sale units is less than two-thirds. In some places, the sale unit ratio is less than 5%, making maintenance projects nearly impossible. When maintenance projects become necessary due to aging of mixed housing complexes in the future, even if sale units want to proceed, it will be impossible. Seoul City must prepare in advance.”

Seoul City plans to actively propose amendments to laws related to maintenance projects for mixed housing complexes to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the City Council will prepare through ordinance revisions, which are the solutions proposed by Councilor Choi.