Among 152 Sunset Spots in Sewoon District, 63 Places Receive 'Conditional Extension'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Seoul's plan to promote large-scale urban regeneration by collectively lifting the sunset deadline on 152 redevelopment zones within the Seun Urban Renewal Promotion District has encountered setbacks. Nearly half of the 152 zones, totaling 63, have been granted 'conditional extensions,' keeping the possibility of development open. The city plans to proceed with urban regeneration projects starting from the areas where redevelopment zones have been lifted, while imposing conditions such as tenant protection measures on the extended zones and strictly managing them from the redevelopment project planning stage.

On the 21st, at the 6th Urban Redevelopment Committee meeting, Seoul announced on the 22nd that the sunset deadlines for 63 zones?including Seun 2 District (35 sites), 3-8 and 10 Districts (2 sites), 5-4, 7, 8, and 9 Districts (4 sites), and 6-4 District (22 sites)?have been extended until March 26 of next year. This decision took into account the willingness of landowners and local districts to proceed with the projects. Excluding these, 89 zones?including 5-2, 5, 6, 10, and 11 Districts (5 sites), 6-1 District (32 sites), 6-2 District (47 sites), and 6-3 District (5 sites)?have been lifted from redevelopment zone status.

Out of the total 171 redevelopment zones within the Seun Urban Renewal Promotion District, 152 zones passed their sunset deadline (March 26, 2019) without applying for project implementation approval within five years since their designation on March 27, 2014. According to Article 20 (Lifting of Redevelopment Zones, etc.) of the Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act, zones that have not applied for project implementation approval within five years of designation must be lifted. However, extensions of up to two years are possible if more than 30% of landowners consent or if retention is deemed necessary for planned redevelopment.

Seoul stated, "Local districts requested extensions for some zones after going through related procedures such as resident review and district council opinion hearings regarding the lifting and extension of redevelopment zones, and the Urban Redevelopment Committee made the final decision accordingly."

Following the committee's review, the 89 zones lifted from redevelopment status will be managed through regeneration methods involving resident consultations, in line with the 'Seun Shopping District Urban Industry Preservation and Revitalization Measures' announced by Seoul last month.

The 63 extended zones must meet conditions reflecting the city's policy direction. The city set the following conditions for extending redevelopment zones: ▲ obtaining consent rates for project implementation approval application (75% of landowners, 50% of land area) to apply to local districts ▲ preparing effective tenant protection measures as proposed in the 'Seun Shopping District Urban Industry Preservation and Revitalization Measures' ▲ establishing project implementation plans reflecting the ongoing Seun Urban Renewal Promotion Plan, including infrastructure adjustments ▲ prohibition of large-scale integrated development. Accordingly, Seun 2 District must maintain its existing 35 redevelopment sites.

Kang Maeng-hoon, Director of Seoul's Urban Regeneration Office, said, "To realize the urban industry preservation and revitalization measures for the Seun Shopping District announced last month, we plan to actively promote regeneration projects in areas lifted from redevelopment zones. For zones where the sunset deadline has been extended due to the Urban Redevelopment Committee's decision, we will impose tenant protection conditions and strictly manage them from the redevelopment project planning stage to preserve the urban industrial ecosystem."

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