Seoul City Accelerates Housing Supply for 110,000 Households... Forms TF to Continuously Monitor Progress

Seo Jeong-hyeop, Acting Mayor of Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is forming a 'Housing Supply Task Force (TF)' led by the Deputy Mayor for Administration to accelerate the pace of housing supply.

On the 11th, Seoul announced that it has organized a housing supply TF consisting of four promotion teams led by the Deputy Mayor for Administration to establish sector-specific implementation plans and continuously monitor progress. The TF is composed of four promotion teams: ▲ Activation of public redevelopment ▲ Discovery and complex development of idle sites ▲ Public participation high-density reconstruction ▲ Equity accumulation type sale housing. Heads of relevant departments will serve as responsible officers for each sector, and the first sector-specific promotion plan meeting will be held within this month, presided over by the Acting Mayor of Seoul.

This policy was prepared to promptly implement the government's plan announced on the 4th to supply 110,000 housing units in Seoul by 2028 through the 'Plan to Expand Housing Supply in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Surrounding Areas.'

Public Redevelopment Candidate Sites to be Solicited from September... Simplification of Project Implementation Approval Procedures

The public redevelopment project will accelerate to quickly establish the system and create a stable housing supply foundation. From September, applications for candidate sites will be accepted from redevelopment associations and resident representatives, and candidate sites will be selected starting in November. The city plans to significantly shorten the preliminary procedures for newly designating public redevelopment sites (from 18 months to 6 months) and support the simplification of project implementation approval procedures. First, starting on the 13th in Dongdaemun-gu, explanatory meetings will be held in each autonomous district.

According to the current '2025 Urban Residential Environment Maintenance Basic Plan,' new redevelopment areas must undergo a 'pre-feasibility review' procedure to be designated. However, the city plans to review changes to the basic plan to allow this procedure to be omitted if the public redevelopment candidate site solicitation process is followed. Through this, the city expects to drastically reduce the average 18-month preliminary designation procedure to 6 months.

After selecting candidate sites, the city also plans to create a separate delegated subcommittee within the Urban Planning Committee dedicated to reviewing the designation of 'public redevelopment project' districts through legal amendments. Additionally, procedures such as separate reviews by the Architecture Committee, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Traffic Impact Assessment, which were required after district designation for project implementation approval, will be integrated and simplified.

12,000 Housing Units to be Supplied through New Sites... Targeting Construction Start within 2024

Among the new site discovery projects, the total plan proposed by Seoul includes 11 complexes and 12,000 housing units, and the city plans to coordinate with related agencies to ensure that each project can start construction within 2024.

For example, in the case of Myeonmok Administrative Town in Jungnang-gu, the city will accelerate project progress by closely cooperating among the city, autonomous district, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), supporting national and city funds, and establishing detailed project plans for the 96,000㎡ building scale. The Sangam DMC project will continue to promote the originally planned complex business center development. However, some of the total floor area will be used to simultaneously develop local living SOC such as libraries and residential areas. Furthermore, the city will consider local infrastructure conditions such as schools and parks through expert consultation and will engage in sufficient discussions with related agencies including MOLIT, autonomous districts, and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) regarding project realization methods.

Activation of Public Participation High-Density Reconstruction... Presenting Basic Models to Associations

The public participation high-density reconstruction will form a Public Maintenance Project TF with MOLIT to prepare activation implementation plans. Following the first meeting held the previous day, meetings will be held weekly.

The Public Maintenance Project TF includes working-level officials from MOLIT, Seoul City, Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), and SH Corporation. Additionally, under the leadership of LH Corporation, a 'Public Maintenance Project Support Center' will be established with joint participation from SH Corporation and Korea Appraisal Board to provide guidance on promotion methods, project feasibility analysis, and rough architectural forms to associations and other project entities. In particular, the city plans to create basic models through pilot complex simulations and present them to associations and other project entities considering participation. One to two leading projects will be selected promptly to promote expansion.

Equity Accumulation Type Sale Housing Designed for Actual Demand from Homeless Households

For equity accumulation type sale housing, a 'MOLIT-Seoul City Working TF' will be immediately activated to improve the system and establish operational standards so that it can be applied in the actual sales market. The system will be completed promptly, MOLIT will support related legal amendments, and efforts will be accelerated for project implementation.

According to a citizen opinion survey on housing supply policies conducted last month targeting 1,000 men and women aged 18 or older residing in Seoul, 80.5% of citizens responded that new supply models are necessary. MOLIT also views the purpose and expected effects of this system very positively and agreed to immediately activate a working TF for full institutionalization. Going forward, through participation by SH Urban Research Institute, a public housing policy specialized research institute, the equity accumulation type sale housing system will be meticulously designed to reduce the burden of homeownership for first-time buyers, newlyweds, and other homeless actual demanders.

Seoul City and MOLIT will share and review these system improvements and overall progress and will hold and operate a 'Market Management Consultative Body' biweekly to ensure the smooth implementation of the housing supply expansion plan for the Seoul metropolitan area.

Kim Hak-jin, Deputy Mayor for Administration of Seoul, said, "We will accelerate to ensure that the supply of 110,000 housing units in the Seoul area proceeds without delay," adding, "In particular, we will work closely with MOLIT to discover pilot project sites for public reconstruction and public redevelopment projects and strive to produce visible results within the year so that new systems can take root and spread in the market."

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