City Begins 'Standardization of Management Disposition' Work to Reduce Reconstruction Conflicts and Accelerate Progress

Archive photo / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun standardizing the preparation process for the management disposition plan approval in redevelopment projects according to project types. Management disposition approval is the final stage of reconstruction and redevelopment projects, where the distribution of assets to association members for the new buildings takes place, making it a crucial process often called the 'last gateway' of redevelopment projects. The industry expects that Seoul's initiative will reduce typical conflicts at the management disposition approval stage, such as disputes between reconstruction apartment owners and commercial tenants, and accelerate the overall pace of redevelopment projects.

According to the redevelopment industry on the 4th, Seoul recently started investigating the actual conditions of management disposition approval zones by project type since 2017 and began efforts to improve deficient systems. The investigation targets redevelopment and reconstruction projects implemented under the Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act from 2017 to this year (including promotion projects within redevelopment promotion districts).

Redevelopment projects proceed in various types depending on the district characteristics, such as residential redevelopment, urban redevelopment, and reconstruction of multi-family or single-family housing. The contents and procedures for establishing management disposition plans differ according to these project types. However, current regulations and laws on management disposition plan approval are based on redevelopment association-type projects. For other project types, some standards regarding content and procedures are lacking.

This causes conflicts during project progress. A representative example is the conflict over profit distribution between apartments and commercial spaces in multi-family housing reconstruction. Commercial spaces have often opposed reconstruction due to relatively low appraisal values, causing project delays or conflicts escalating to lawsuits. Gaepo Jugong 1-danji in Gangnam District recently reached an agreement after conflicts over commercial development profits persisted, influenced by the private land price ceiling system variable. In Seocho District, Sinbanpo 12th complex reconstruction was reset to square one after the association establishment was canceled at the end of last year following a lawsuit loss by the commercial side.

Seoul plans to identify detailed issues and support needs by analyzing the current status of management disposition plans, which are prepared and processed diversely according to project types. It will also provide practical guidelines on the content and procedures for establishing management disposition plans. The city will supplement the current public support system, which mainly applies to association-type projects, to allow landowners and project implementers to receive public support as well. After conducting field surveys in each zone and reviewing related laws requiring improvement, Seoul aims to produce a manual by the second half of next year.

A Seoul city official said, "We plan to conduct related research for about one and a half years and present the results," adding, "By preparing standardized guidelines for various project types and adapting them according to district circumstances, conflicts can be reduced, enabling smoother and faster project progress."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.