Seoul Speeds Up Reconstruction and Redevelopment... "85,000 Housing Units to Break Ground Within 3 Years"

Six-Item Rapid Construction Package... KRW 50 billion in relocation loan support
Eunpyeong District to lead construction starts through 2028 with 9,300 units
20,000 units in the Hangang Belt, including Yongsan and Dongjak
30,000 units to begin construction this year

Oh Sehoon, mayor of Seoul, is speaking at the '85,000-unit Rapid Construction' housing project's core supply strategy presentation held at Seoul City Hall on the 26th. Photo by Yonhap News

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will shorten administrative procedures such as reconstruction and redevelopment reviews in the Hangang Belt areas including Yongsan and Dongjak, in order to start construction on 85,000 housing units within the next three years. To this end, it has decided to introduce a new "Six-Item Rapid Construction Package," which includes electronic general meetings, the involvement of experts in demolition plans, and integrated reviews. The city also plans to specify stage-by-stage deadlines in the standard construction contracts to accelerate urban renewal projects.

Mayor Oh Sehoon of Seoul said at the presentation held at City Hall on the 26th, "We will concentrate administrative resources on projects that are in the management and disposal, relocation, and release stages." This is an increase of 6,000 units from the original target of 79,000 units. The city also plans to raise this year's construction start volume from the existing 23,000 units to 30,000 units in order to break through the current supply drought.

Eunpyeong has the largest construction volume within 3 years... Hangang Belt remains strong

Among the 85 districts disclosed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that day, Eunpyeong District had the largest number of units. Including Galhyeon District 1 (4,116 units), Bulgwang District 5 (2,387 units), Jeungsan District 5 (1,775 units), and Susaek District 8 (621 units), the total comes to 9,398 units.

Construction starts are also concentrated in the Hangang Belt districts such as Yongsan, Dongjak, Dongdaemun, and Seongdong. Yongsan District has a total of 8,154 units, including Hannam District 3 (5,970 units), which is targeted to begin construction in 2026, Hannam District 2 (1,537 units), and Sanho Apartment (647 units). The Hannam New Town area is regarded as a prime high-end residential district that offers both views of the Han River and convenient access to Gangnam.

Dongjak District (7,657 units) is also a key axis of the Hangang Belt. Large-scale urban renewal sites such as Noryangjin District 1 (2,992 units), Heukseok District 11 (1,515 units), and Noryangjin Districts 3, 4, 5, and 7 are included. When Seongdong District (1,113 units) and Mapo District (1,652 units) are added, the number of units starting construction in river-adjacent autonomous districts exceeds 20,000.

Among the three Gangnam districts, Songpa District has the largest construction-start volume with 7,305 units. This includes Garak Samik Mansion (1,531 units), Macheon District 4 (1,254 units), Samhwan Garak Apartment (1,101 units), and Garak Plaza Apartment (1,068 units). In addition, the reconstruction of Gaepo Jugong Complex 5 in Gangnam District (1,279 units) has been moved forward by 12 months compared with the previous schedule.

Six-Item Rapid Construction Package to be applied to 85 districts

The six-item package focuses on substantially streamlining administrative procedures up to the start of construction. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will fully subsidize the costs of activating electronic general meetings, shortening each meeting by between two weeks and one month. To facilitate dissolution reviews for associations entering the relocation phase, the city will support expert advisory input at the demolition-plan drafting stage, cutting an additional month. It also plans to "integrate" the separate structural and excavation reviews that were previously conducted individually before construction, thereby bringing the schedule forward by another month.

In addition, to prevent conflicts between associations and contractors, the city has mandated that the deadlines for each stage - relocation, release, and construction start - be clearly specified in the standard construction contracts. For projects that have completed project implementation approval, it will also provide consulting services on construction-change contracts before construction begins. Next year, the city plans to develop a "Urban Renewal Project Schedule Management Calendar" application (app) to promote tighter schedule management.

KRW 50 billion allocated from the Housing Promotion Fund for relocation loans

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will allocate KRW 50 billion from this year's Housing Promotion Fund to provide relocation loan support for project sites that are struggling at the final pre-construction hurdle, the "relocation stage," due to relocation loan regulations. Applications will begin in March, with reviews scheduled for April and disbursements to be made by May.

However, with a scale of KRW 50 billion, there are limits to supporting all 253 urban renewal districts across Seoul, so the city plans to continue formally requesting the central government to ease regulations going forward. At the presentation that day, the heads of the 85 core supply strategy project associations attended and submitted a petition to the city of Seoul describing the difficulties caused by current central government regulations, including relocation loans and restrictions on the transfer of association member status. Mayor Oh stated, "We will secure the Housing Promotion Fund even if we have to adjust our budget plans, and if necessary, we will further expand it," adding, "We will strongly urge the central government to relax regulations."