"Unsellable or Forced Liquidation... Who Would Agree?"

Announcement of 3080+ Public Development Candidate Sites Draws "Absurd Without Prior Survey" Reactions
Residents Oppose Private Redevelopment in Yeongdeungpo Singil, Dobong-gu Changdong
Frequent Ownership Changes in Changdong Raise Concerns Over Cash Settlements After 2·4 Plan

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] "Is it acceptable that actual residents cannot sell, while investors are forced into cash liquidation?"

The government announced candidate sites for the ‘3080+ Metropolitan Area Housing Supply Plan’ urban public housing complex projects, but residents in many of the targeted areas are responding with disbelief. This is because the government unilaterally announced the sites based solely on district office recommendations without prior public consultation. In particular, the government's decision to retroactively set the cash liquidation reference date to the supply plan announcement date for the candidate sites, citing speculation prevention, is becoming an obstacle to gaining residents' consent for project implementation.

According to the redevelopment industry on the 1st, after the government announced 21 candidate sites for urban public housing complex projects in Seoul as a follow-up to the February 4 supply plan, residents in those areas appeared bewildered. Although the government confidently stated it would "quickly show visible results for the pilot project candidate sites," the actual owners only learned of the news through media reports. For public-led projects to proceed in earnest, consent from two-thirds of the owners must be obtained within one year. However, this announcement was made solely based on district office recommendations without gathering residents' opinions.

There was particularly strong opposition in areas where private-led redevelopment has recently been active, such as the semi-industrial zone in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, and the low-rise residential area in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu. This is due to the spread of ‘public distrust’ following the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) employee land speculation scandal, as well as growing concerns that property rights might be restricted or that owners could be forced into cash liquidation. As part of speculation prevention measures, the government decided not to grant priority supply rights to those who purchased real estate in urban public housing complex project areas after the February 4 plan announcement. Since new buyers are subject to cash liquidation, existing homeowners effectively have no way to sell.

A, who recently purchased a small villa in Chang-dong, said, "There have been so many ownership changes recently that supply is scarce, so it won't be easy to reach the consent rate," and added, "Will it just end with the number of households being met and announced before the Seoul mayoral election regardless of residents' consent?" In Chang-dong, support for Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, has recently surged ahead of Park Young-sun of the Democratic Party in polls, raising expectations for private-led redevelopment. B, a resident of the area, questioned, "If the opposition candidate wins, private redevelopment will gain momentum, so why would anyone want a public-led project?"

Residents of other candidate sites such as Singil New Town 2, 4, and 15 districts also responded negatively. C, an owner in Singil 4 district, said, "I had never heard of a public-led development anywhere and only found out through the news article," adding, "I submitted a consent form supporting private-led redevelopment to the district office, so I have no idea what is going on." Underlying these objections were not only restrictions on property rights due to speculation prevention measures but also distrust toward the public sector.

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