Mokdong Reconstruction Safety Inspection Accelerates... "Final Results After General Election"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Apartments in the Mokdong New Town area of Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, are competitively accelerating safety inspections to promote reconstruction. Since last year, a total of 14 complexes with about 27,000 households have consecutively applied for safety inspections, with more than half having started detailed safety inspections, and some have even received results, raising expectations for reconstruction. However, the final stage of the safety inspection, the appropriateness review by public institutions, is expected to be announced no earlier than after the general elections.

According to the maintenance industry on the 20th, Yangcheon-gu Office recently commissioned a detailed safety inspection for Complex 8 in the Sinjeong-dong 314 area. Complex 8 is an apartment complex consisting of 12 buildings with 1,352 households. With the commissioning of the detailed safety inspection for Complex 8, half of the 14 complexes in the entire New Town area have begun the detailed safety inspection process. Currently, besides Complex 8, Complexes 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 14 have entered the detailed safety inspection phase. A Yangcheon-gu official stated, "Of the remaining seven complexes, six have already completed the deposit for the detailed safety inspection costs, and the last one is expected to proceed soon," adding, "The detailed safety inspections will be conducted sequentially."

The safety inspection, the first gateway before proceeding with reconstruction, is divided into three main stages: preliminary safety inspection by the local district office, detailed safety inspection by specialized companies, and appropriateness review by public institutions. Only when the safety inspection determines that the buildings are old and inconvenient enough to require reconstruction can the reconstruction project proceed.

Constructed between 1985 and 1988, the Mokdong New Town area in Mokdong and Sinjeong-dong, consisting of about 27,000 households, began full-scale reconstruction preparations in 2018 as it passed the 30-year reconstruction eligibility period. However, the schedule was disrupted when safety inspection standards were tightened starting in March of that year. The reconstruction project gained renewed momentum when the zoning upgrade for Complexes 1 to 3 passed Seoul City’s review. Mokdong Complexes 1 to 3 were designated as special planning zones, allowing their zoning to be upgraded from Type 2 General Residential Area to Type 3 General Residential Area during the maintenance plan establishment. Their basic floor area ratio increased from 200% to 250%, enhancing project feasibility.

Complexes 6 and 9, which moved quickly, previously received a conditional reconstruction D grade in the detailed safety inspection results. If the safety inspection results are grades A to C, only maintenance and repairs are allowed, and reconstruction is not permitted. Grade D allows conditional reconstruction after the appropriateness review by public institutions. Grade E confirms reconstruction approval.

Accordingly, Complexes 6 and 9 in Mokdong must undergo one more appropriateness review. The appropriateness review period typically takes about six months. Considering that it takes at least five months, the appropriateness review results for Complex 6, which was the fastest, are also expected no earlier than May. Previously, the Dongbu Green Apartments in Oryu-dong, Guro-gu, passed the detailed safety inspection but failed reconstruction after receiving a C grade in the appropriateness review, so market attention is focused on the appropriateness review results. A maintenance project official said, "Based on the detailed safety inspection results, it is not a range to be fully reassured about, so we need to watch the appropriateness review results closely."

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