Candidate Sites and Rejected Sites Controversy... Growing Noise Over Public Development

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] There are growing controversies over the selection of candidate sites for the public redevelopment and urban public housing complex projects promoted by the government. While demands for 'exclusion from designation' are increasing among residents in various candidate sites, opposition is spreading in some areas that were excluded despite high resident consent rates. Critics point out that focusing solely on project feasibility rather than resident acceptance rates or the necessity of public intervention has fueled dissatisfaction on both sides.

As of the 17th, among the 56 candidate sites for the urban public housing complex project, six have officially submitted withdrawal requests, accounting for nearly 15% of the total 75,000 households. Of the 18 sites expressing opposition to the project, the remaining 12 are also reportedly preparing to withdraw their candidate site designations.

Public redevelopment is also facing resident opposition. In Heukseok 2 District, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, a petition to revoke the redevelopment zone was submitted simultaneously with the joint project implementer designation consent form. In Gangbuk 5 District, Gangbuk-gu, an administrative lawsuit to revoke the zone designation is underway, led by commercial property owners.

On the other hand, in the excluded areas, complaints such as "Why were we not selected as a candidate site?" are mounting. Seongbuk 5 District (formerly Seongbuk 3 District) in Seongbuk-gu, which submitted applications consecutively for both public redevelopment and urban public housing complex projects but was excluded, is a representative case. This district was designated as a redevelopment zone in 2008 and received project implementation approval in 2011 but was revoked in 2017 due to the New Town exit policy.

The resident consent rate in this area was reportedly strong, exceeding 60% during the public redevelopment promotion, indicating a strong desire for redevelopment. However, public redevelopment was repeatedly rejected due to a 44% floor area aging rate, and the urban public housing complex project was excluded because it is a type 1 residential area and a hilly terrain. A resident of this district said, "The government seems to be trying to make public projects in areas that already have good feasibility rather than helping zones that lack feasibility and cannot sustain themselves."

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