Daegu City's Double Standards Dim 'Happy House'... Conditional Approval Amid Sunlight Rights Controversy

Controversy Over Sunlight and View Rights Intensifies for 42-Story Residential Complex in Hwanggeum-dong, Suseong-gu
Despite August Ordinance Limiting Floor Area Ratio for High-Rise Apartments in Commercial Zones...
Daegu City Reaches 'Conditional A

Residents of Happy House Two-in-One in Hwanggeum-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, are holding a rally on the 27th in front of the main entrance of the Daegu City Hall annex, opposing the approval of the construction of a new mixed-use building.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] While Daegu City is pushing for an amendment to the ordinance to reduce the floor area ratio in order to minimize the side effects of residential complex buildings, it is also showing consideration by allowing a specific developer, who did not guarantee even the minimum sunlight rights to neighbors, to apply for a building permit conditionally, causing backlash from nearby residents.

On the 27th, Daegu held a construction committee meeting and issued a "conditional resolution" for the 42-story residential complex (apartments and officetels) in Hwanggeum-dong, Suseong-gu, which had been given a "reconsideration resolution" three months earlier.

Until the results of the construction committee meeting were announced that afternoon, residents nearby who had been holding rallies in front of City Hall for four hours demanding the guarantee of their living environment were informed that detailed information would be delivered by official letter next week, which sparked strong protests from the residents.

Soh Hyun-kyung, Chairperson of the Happy House Damage Countermeasures Committee, opposed, saying, "If the building permit is granted without any supplementary measures corresponding to the residents' demands, we will use all possible means, including administrative lawsuits, class-action lawsuits, and requests for audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection."

The building in question, located in Hwanggeum-dong, Suseong-gu, a prime commercial area in downtown Daegu, is planned to be constructed with three basement floors and 42 above-ground floors, comprising 158 apartment units and 44 officetel units.

The problem is that this super high-rise apartment will be built just 4 meters away, directly south-facing, from the 9th-floor apartment of Happy House 2in1.

A 42-story residential complex apartment rendering to be built in front of Hwanggeum-dong Happy House (marked in red). (Provided by Happy House Damage Countermeasure Committee)

Regarding the "sunlight solution" pointed out at the Daegu Construction Committee meeting held on August 21, the developer changed the design by relocating the ground parking lot from the 5th to the 3rd floor, increasing the number of floors from 38 to 42, and expanding the distance between buildings from 7 meters to 20 meters. However, it was still found that the minimum sunlight rights recognized by court precedents (tolerance limit) were not guaranteed to the neighbors.

According to Yuk Jeong-mi, a member of the Suseong-gu Council, if the residential complex building in question is constructed according to the initial design, there will be no households that receive even 1% of the tolerance limit. This means that the legally guaranteed continuous two hours or total four hours of sunlight per day recognized by court precedents is not met, and the sunlight entering is less than one minute.

On the 27th, the Daegu Construction Committee also focused on discussing this serious infringement of sunlight rights, but the conclusion was a "conditional resolution." Although the specific conditions were not immediately disclosed, the developer is expected to modify some design plans to meet these conditions and apply for a building permit at Suseong-gu Office by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Daegu City legislatively announced an ordinance amendment on August 20 to limit the floor area ratio of residential complex buildings in commercial areas to 400%, but the Daegu City Council postponed the review on October 12, mindful of the backlash from some residents during the announcement period.

When the ordinance was announced for legislative notice, Daegu City explained, "Recently, high-rise and high-density residential complex buildings using high floor area ratios applied in commercial areas have been concentrated, turning commercial and business function areas into residential areas," and "the ordinance amendment was prepared to prevent deterioration of residential conditions such as infringement of sunlight and view rights, and problems such as lack of infrastructure including schools."

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