Will Neighborhood Redevelopment Projects Speed Up? "District Mayors Should Be Granted Approval Authority for Projects with Fewer Than 1,000 Households" [Real Estate AtoZ]

Seoul City Review Bottleneck: "Delays Can Easily Exceed One or Two Years"
"Exploring Ways to Accelerate Process... Considering Decentralizing Authority"

Kim Yoon-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, visited the Seongsu 1 District housing reconstruction and maintenance project site in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the 28th, touring the maintenance project area while listening to explanations from Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu. On the left is Jeon Hyun-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

There is a growing call to grant district mayors the authority to designate zones and approve permits for small-scale maintenance projects involving fewer than 1,000 households. The idea is to transfer some of Seoul Metropolitan Government's responsibilities to district offices in order to accelerate the approval process for maintenance projects. With redevelopment projects delayed across Seoul and housing prices soaring, both the government and the ruling party are taking action, and related discussions are expected to gain significant momentum.

On the 28th, during a visit to the Seongsu 1 District reconstruction site in Seongdong-gu, Seoul to inspect maintenance projects, Kim Yoonduk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, listened as Jung Wono, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, explained, "Hundreds of projects are funneled into Seoul Metropolitan Government's review process at once, so if there is any delay, it can easily take more than one or two years." He added, "The Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Act, Article 8, should be revised to grant district mayors the authority to approve maintenance projects."

"Project Delays Due to Seoul City Review Backlog... Responsibilities Should Be Shared with Districts"

On the 28th, a high-rise apartment complex can be seen behind the old residential area of Seongsu 1 District, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Choi Seoyoon

Currently, the authority to approve project implementation lies with the district mayor. However, before approval, all projects must undergo preliminary reviews by various Seoul Metropolitan Government committees. More than 640 maintenance projects must pass through the Urban Planning Review Committee and the Urban Architecture Joint Committee. These meetings are held only twice a month, and simply waiting for a slot causes project timelines to be delayed.

Mayor Jung pointed out, "Even though the city is trying to speed up the process, the backlog of maintenance projects is not being resolved," and emphasized, "The problem is that the approval authority is excessively concentrated at the city level." He stated, "Large-scale projects with over 1,000 households should remain with the city, but small- and medium-sized projects with fewer than 1,000 households should be handled directly by the 25 district offices. Of the maintenance projects in Seoul, only about 200 involve more than 1,000 households, so 80% of the work would be distributed to district offices, and the pace of progress would visibly improve."

At a closed-door meeting following Minister Kim's site inspection, Mayor Jung formally proposed this idea to the government. Immediately after the meeting, he told The Asia Business Daily, "The government, relevant agencies, and the local National Assembly member all said they would review the proposal positively." Minister Kim also told reporters, "Reducing the duration of maintenance projects is the top priority," and added, "We will review ways to speed up maintenance projects in cooperation with relevant agencies."

Lim Hyeongjin, head of the Seongsu 1 District Housing Reconstruction and Maintenance Association, said, "We have been preparing for the architectural review for four months just to obtain project implementation approval, but it is difficult even to schedule a review date. Both 300-household and 1,000-household projects go through the same procedures, resulting in long wait times." He added, "We only managed to schedule the remodeling subcommittee review a few days ago. The issue is not negligence by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, but that the workload has become overwhelming." The Seongsu 1 reconstruction project had been stalled for nearly 20 years since the establishment of the association's organizing committee in 2004, but began to gain momentum after the association was officially established in 2020, Lotte Construction was selected as the contractor in 2022, and the project became eligible last year for a special provision increasing the floor area ratio for quasi-industrial zones under Article 54, Paragraph 1 of the Urban Maintenance Act.

Mayor Jung emphasized, "We still have to go through project implementation approval, management disposition approval, groundbreaking, sales, and completion, which will take at least another seven to eight years. The current structure, where it typically takes 20 years from the start of a maintenance project to move-in, must be changed."

At the site on this day, Minister Kim, Mayor Jung, Jeon Hyunhee, Senior Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea and local National Assembly member, Choi Jinseok, Director of Housing for Seoul Metropolitan Government, Son Taerak, President of Korea Real Estate Board, and Yoon Myeonggyu, Acting President of Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), all gathered. It is unusual for key officials from the central government, city, and district to assemble at a relatively small site with only 322 households.

Mayor Oh Sehoon: "Propose Lifting Regulations in Areas Where Home Prices Have Not Risen"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehun is touring the redevelopment area of Garibong 2 District in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, on the same day, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon visited a redevelopment site in Garibong-dong, Guro-gu, and stated, "I will propose lifting regulations in areas where home prices have not risen." Due to the October 15 real estate measures, including restrictions on the transfer of membership status, a five-year ban on multiple wins in maintenance project pre-sales, and stricter loan regulations, transactions have slowed and consent rates among association members have dropped, causing delays in maintenance projects. Mayor Oh expressed his intention to address these issues.

He said, "Even areas where home prices have not risen, such as Geumcheon, Gwanak, and Guro (Geum-Gwan-Gu), and Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk (No-Do-Gang), have been excessively bound by regulations. I will faithfully serve as a bridge to convey the voices from the field, so that measures such as exceptions or transitional provisions can be considered, or areas where there has been no change in housing prices can be excluded from regulated zones."