Transformation into a Space Encompassing Commerce, Business, and Welfare
Up to 700% Floor Area Ratio, Six Basement and Forty-Nine Above-Ground Floors
The area around Yujin Shopping Center and Inwang Market in Seodaemun-gu, once a landmark of northwestern Seoul, will be reborn as a complex space encompassing commerce, business, and welfare.
On April 24, Seoul City announced that it had held the 6th Urban Planning Committee meeting and approved, with modifications, the designation of the redevelopment zone and the redevelopment plan for the station area revitalization project around Yujin Shopping Center and Inwang Market in Seodaemun-gu.
Yujin Shopping Center was built in the 1970s on a covered stream as part of Seoul’s fortification policy. It was once the central commercial district and a landmark of the northwestern region. However, after part of it was demolished during the construction of the Inner Beltway in the 1990s, it gradually declined. Currently, the area faces several challenges, including residential safety issues due to aging buildings, the need for restoration of Hongjecheon Stream, and a lack of a central commercial district.
In particular, Yujin Shopping Center is a mixed-use building constructed over Hongjecheon Stream, which is public land owned by the city, so property owners do not have ownership rights to the land. Residents demanded compensation in the form of apartments equivalent in size to their existing commercial spaces or cash compensation at actual transaction value, and when the city refused, development was halted for a time.
Perspective rendering of the complex development around Yujin Shopping Center and Inwang Market in Seodaemun-gu. Seoul City
Although redevelopment had been pursued for a long time, it repeatedly faced setbacks. With this decision, the project is now seen as taking its first substantial step forward. A large-scale complex development will be promoted in earnest, featuring a floor area ratio of up to 700%, six basement levels and 49 above-ground floors, a total floor area of 280,000 square meters, 1,121 residential units, 92 officetels, and commercial, business, and neighborhood facilities.
In addition, as a public contribution, the covered structure over Hongjecheon Stream will be removed and the stream will be restored to its natural state. Welfare and cultural facilities such as a kids’ cafe, senior cafe, public postpartum care center, startup support center, and library will also be included.
An official from Seoul City stated, "Through the redevelopment of the Yujin Shopping Center and Inwang Market area, a central commercial district connected to the Hongjecheon waterfront will be created, and welfare and cultural facilities accessible to various generations will be established. We expect this area to be reborn as a waterfront complex city that represents the northwestern region of Seoul."
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