[Exclusive] SH Adds 'Development' Again... Changes Name to Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation

Adding 'Development' to the Existing Name to Strengthen Identity
Implementation in the Second Half of the Year After Ordinance and Articles of Incorporation Amendments

Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), an investment institution of Seoul City, will change its name to ‘Seoul Housing and Urban Development Corporation.’ This change adds ‘Development’ to the existing name, marking the first time in nine years since the official corporate name was changed to the Korean name Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation.

SH Corporation changes its name to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation. Photo by SH Corporation.

According to Seoul City and SH Corporation on the 13th, the corporation is promoting the name change based on Mayor Oh Se-hoon's judgment that the current name does not properly reflect the scope and identity of the corporation, which carries out various development projects in Seoul as well as citizen housing welfare projects. There has also been consistent criticism from the opposition party in the Seoul Metropolitan Council regarding the direction and scope of the projects.

The main businesses of SH Corporation include the supply and management of rental housing and the supply of ‘Mirinae Jip’ (Long-term Lease Housing II), a core housing policy of Mayor Oh. In addition, the corporation has played the role of a developer in past projects such as the Munjeong District urban development project and the Godeok Biz Valley creation project, and currently executes projects promoted by the city such as the Hangang Bus, the Ferris wheel (Seoul Ring), and the Yongsan International Business District development project.

The new name is expected to be officially used starting in the second half of this year. To change the name, the Seoul Metropolitan Council must amend the ‘Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation,’ and the corporation’s articles of incorporation must also be revised.

Even with the addition of ‘Development’ to the corporate name, the abbreviation ‘SH’ will remain unchanged. Since the English name ‘Seoul Housing’ remains the same and ‘SH’ is also used as a logo, changing it would incur enormous costs due to brand replacement. SH Corporation manages nearly 140,000 rental housing units, and repainting the indoor structures, signs, and apartment exterior logos in these complexes would require hundreds of billions of won in budget.

The corporation was launched in February 1989 as the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Urban Development Corporation.’ Later, in March 2004 during former President Lee Myung-bak’s tenure as Seoul Mayor, the name was changed to ‘SH Corporation’ to have an English name. Then, during Mayor Park Won-soon’s administration in 2016, the name ‘Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation’ was added because the pronunciation was difficult and the previous name did not reflect the role or vision, and both names have been used concurrently since then.