Board of Audit and Inspection: "Jung-gu Office Approved Project Implementation Change Without Confirming Landowners' Consent"

Procedural Flaws Revealed in Redevelopment Promotion Project Zone... Jung-gu Office Staff Disciplined and Warned

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has revealed that during the promotion of a redevelopment promotion project in Jung-gu, Seoul, the project implementation change approval was granted without confirming the approval or disapproval of the landowners.

On the 27th, the BAI announced the results of a public audit on the A Redevelopment Promotion Project. This audit was conducted over five days from May 20 to 26 last year.

According to the BAI, the project implementer sought approval for a project implementation change plan and project implementation plan that involved transferring residential building rights from zones 3-2, 3-6, and 3-7 within the district to zones 3-1, 3-4, and 3-5 respectively, changing the building use to residential complex.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the former 'Urban Maintenance Act' Article 28, Paragraph 7, and the autonomous regulations of each zone, when a project implementer intends to transfer residential building rights to another zone, they must notify the landowners and provide an opportunity to express their approval or disapproval.

The BAI pointed out, "Jung-gu granted approval for the project implementation change plan (office/hotel facilities → residential complex) without confirming whether the project implementer gave the landowners in zone 3-2 the opportunity to express their approval or disapproval."

Furthermore, according to the former 'Seoul Metropolitan Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance,' if the total gross floor area of buildings in the same jurisdiction exceeds 100,000㎡, environmental impact assessment consultation must be conducted for the entire project, and if the area increases by more than 30%, re-consultation is required.

The BAI criticized, "Jung-gu approved the project implementation plan for zone 3-2 without re-consultation, even though the combined gross floor area of buildings in zones 3-1 and 3-2 was 100,000㎡, exceeding 30% of the already consulted area of other zones (130,000㎡), which required re-consultation."

Issues were also found in Jung-gu Office’s management and supervision of cash settlement.

The BAI stated, "According to the Urban Maintenance Act and related laws, when a project implementer applies for approval of a new project implementation change plan by changing major parts of the project implementation plan, Jung-gu must stop cash settlement actions based on the previous project plan that has lost its effect and manage and supervise the process so that the previous landowners apply for allocation of buildings with the new usage."

The BAI further pointed out, "However, Jung-gu allowed the project implementer to proceed with cash settlement, such as applying for land expropriation decisions based on the allocation application results for office facilities under the previous project plan, without referring to inquiries from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or legal interpretation cases from the Ministry of Government Legislation, and then approved the project implementation change plan as is."

The BAI requested disciplinary action of at least minor penalties for the team leader, staff, and manager who were in charge of the relevant work at Jung-gu Office at the time, and issued warnings to another manager and two directors.

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