Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Suppressing Reckless High-Rise Apartment-Centered Overdevelopment"

City Council's Response to Municipal Inquiry Reveals Housing Policy

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is responding to Councilor Kim Dong-chan's question regarding Gwangju's housing supply and demand policy at the 296th temporary session of the city council held on the morning of the 31st in the main chamber of the city council. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, stated, “We will curb indiscriminate high-rise apartment development on the outskirts of the city and apply strict standards to development plans that involve housing supply to discourage apartment-centered development.”

Mayor Lee made these remarks on the 31st during the 296th Gwangju City Council extraordinary session in response to council member Kim Dong-chan’s question regarding Gwangju’s housing supply and demand policy.

According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January 2021, as of the end of 2019, the total number of houses in Gwangju was 628,186 units, of which apartments accounted for 66.8% and detached houses and others 33.2%. The housing supply rate reached 107%, with the apartment ratio at 66.8%, the highest among metropolitan local governments.

As of the end of last year, there were 1,157 apartment complexes in use with 432,989 units, and 53 apartment complexes under construction with 23,932 units. Over the past five years, the average annual number of completed houses was about 12,000 units, totaling 59,876 units.

Additionally, the recently completed “2030 Comprehensive Housing Plan” estimated the housing demand and planned supply in Gwangju over the next 10 years, projecting a housing demand of approximately 58,165 units.

This estimate reflects a projected population decrease of 62,000 over the next decade based on Statistics Korea data, but also accounts for an increase of 23,000 households due to the rapid diversification of 1-2 person households such as youth and elderly, as well as trends in housing demolition.

Housing supply plans currently confirmed include 29,343 units from new residential land development projects, 12,754 units from private park special projects, and 36,562 units from redevelopment and reconstruction, totaling 78,659 units.

If approximately 60,000 additional units from regional housing cooperatives and general sale apartments, which are planned or expected to be promoted, are supplied, the housing supply rate in 2030 could approach 120%, raising concerns about oversupply.

However, if future strategic industries such as artificial intelligence, energy, automotive, healthcare, and cultural content become active and the population increases, housing demand and supply rates may change.

Accordingly, Mayor Lee stated, “Redevelopment and reconstruction projects aimed at efficiently improving poor residential environments or aging and substandard buildings will be supported to proceed without setbacks in areas currently underway. Historic old downtown areas will be promoted as urban regeneration New Deal projects that maintain existing appearances through small-scale maintenance such as housing improvement and linkage with history, culture, and tourism, rather than full demolition and redevelopment.”

He also responded that indiscriminate high-rise apartment development on the city outskirts will be curbed.

He added, “Changes in land use for new housing projects premised on zoning upgrades in Type 1 General Residential Areas are not permitted. The amendment to the Housing Act, which supplements institutional deficiencies of regional housing cooperatives, has strengthened conditions for cooperative establishment approval, effectively blocking indiscriminate cooperative formations since July last year.”

He also pledged to improve poor residential environments caused by high-rise, high-density residential buildings in commercial areas within the city, such as issues with sunlight and views.

Mayor Lee explained, “With the revision of the city planning ordinance and the implementation of the commercial area floor area ratio system, institutional measures have been established, including a significant reduction in floor area ratios for residential facilities in quasi-residential and quasi-industrial areas.”

To improve the harsh urban environment, including sunlight, environment, views, and scenic corridors in the city center, and to create a cultured and artistic city with dignity rather than a dull and uniform apartment-centered city, restrictions on the proliferation of high-rise buildings are being enforced. Apartments are limited to 30 floors or less, and mixed-use buildings to about 40 floors or less, with standards to support these measures being prepared.

He emphasized, “To address housing supply and demand imbalances, stricter standards will be applied to development plans involving housing supply, including review by the ‘Housing Policy Deliberation Committee,’ to discourage indiscriminate apartment-centered development. Through this, we aim to prevent urban heat island effects and create a beautiful and livable Gwangju. These measures will be reflected and promoted in the currently being established ‘2040 Basic Urban Plan,’ ‘2030 Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Basic Plan,’ ‘2040 Urban Landscape Plan,’ and ‘Green Building Creation and Management Plan.’”

Mayor Lee also stated, “We will strongly crack down on external speculative forces that disrupt housing market stability and real estate agencies colluding with them. If caught, they will be strictly dealt with to eradicate real estate speculation, alleviate the alienation and deprivation felt by the housing-poor citizens, and contribute to stabilizing the real estate market.”

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