Pushed Without Public Justification Consultation... Seoul City Housing and Urban Policy Faces Resident Backlash

Claiming to create a park by citing environmental damage to Songhyeon-dong land... Greenbelt demolished and Guryong Village developed
Gangnam redevelopment projects on hold due to housing price concerns... GBC and Jamsil MICE development proceed

Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Guryong Village area.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] Seoul's housing and urban policies are coming under scrutiny. There are criticisms that projects are being pushed unilaterally in the name of public interest without consulting stakeholders, and that redevelopment projects have been delayed for years without clear standards, raising concerns about infringement on property rights. As a result, long-standing dissatisfaction among local residents is turning inward, leading to conflicts such as mutual slander and lawsuits among residents.

According to industry sources on the 16th, Seoul recently published the 'Guryong Village Urban Development District Implementation Plan Approval' in the city bulletin. The implementation plan states that on a 266,502㎡ site in Guryong Village, Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, 2,838 housing units will be built, including up to 35-story residential-commercial complexes with 974 units and up to 20-story apartments with 1,864 units, along with neighborhood facilities, parks, and educational facilities. Although the plan initially included 1,107 rental units and 1,731 sale units, the city plans to revise this to build about 4,000 public rental housing units.

Residents of the jurisdictional area as well as Gangnam-gu are opposing Seoul's decision. A Gangnam-gu office official stated, "The plan to develop 4,000 public rental units was carried out unilaterally by Seoul without prior consultation." Seoul is standing firm, saying, "This is not a matter that necessarily requires consent." Even SH Corporation, the project implementer, is reportedly concerned that without general sales, financing for the project could be disrupted. Guryong Village residents strongly oppose Seoul's land expropriation method, which compensates 5 to 6 million KRW per 3.3㎡.

Some criticize Seoul's administration for inconsistency, pointing out that while it promised to create a park on land owned by Korean Air in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, it plans to build a large apartment complex in Guryong Village, most of which is a development-restricted area (Greenbelt). A Korean Air union official said, "Seoul's desk-bound administration has put workers' livelihoods at risk," and criticized, "Forcibly expropriating private land is an infringement on private property rights."

Discontent with Seoul is also growing among major reconstruction complexes in the city. Projects have been blocked for years because Seoul has not proceeded with related procedures without clear grounds.

In the case of Eunma Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, the '35-story revised plan' has not even been submitted to the city’s Urban Planning Committee for years. Although it received a D grade (conditional approval) in 2010 and passed safety inspections, it has not received project implementation approval for 10 years. Seoul halted related procedures such as the Urban Planning Committee subcommittee review, citing concerns that the project might stimulate surrounding housing prices. Due to the delay, residents have split into groups such as the Eunma Residents' Association and Eunma Owners' Council, which function as a promotion committee and emergency countermeasure committee, respectively, and are engaged in internal lawsuits. Similarly, internal conflicts have intensified as reconstruction progress has been indefinitely delayed in complexes like Jamsil Jugong 5th Complex and Yeouido reconstruction sites.

A representative of a Gangnam-area reconstruction association pointed out, "It is self-contradictory to block reconstruction projects citing their impact on surrounding prices while proceeding with the Jamsil MICE project, which has an even greater ripple effect," and criticized, "Unconditionally blocking projects is an act that infringes on residents' property rights."

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