Mixed Emotions Surrounding 'O Se-hoon Style' Public Planning

Redevelopment Projects Followed by Business Participation
Reconstruction Fails to Gain Momentum from Project No. 1

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The fortunes of the ‘public planning’ initiative, promoted by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to revitalize redevelopment projects, are mixed. In the case of redevelopment, residents have expressed active participation intentions even before the candidate site recruitment, but in reconstruction projects, the first project is practically unable to gain momentum due to opposition from some residents.

According to the maintenance industry on the 6th, in the case of private redevelopment applying public planning, active participation movements are emerging mainly in urban regeneration areas ahead of the candidate site recruitment scheduled for the end of this month. Including Changsin and Sungin, the first Seoul-type urban regeneration project sites, 11 locations are currently collecting residents’ consent forms. It is known that about 20 sites, including these, are preparing for public planning recruitment.

The reason urban regeneration project sites are so active in public planning is that they regard it as the last chance for redevelopment. Most of these are places where private redevelopment has stalled, and the government’s public redevelopment initiative has also excluded them due to overlapping support issues. In this situation, Mayor Oh’s decision to allow redevelopment by public planning methods in urban regeneration areas has opened up the possibility of projects. By promoting public planning redevelopment, the designation period for maintenance zones can be drastically shortened from the existing 5 years to 2 years, allowing for faster progress.

On the other hand, in the reconstruction market, public planning does not seem to be drawing much response. Even the first project site selected, Ogeum Hyundai Apartment in Songpa-gu, has been stalled due to opposition from some residents. One resident of this complex expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "There was no collection of residents’ opinions during the revision of the maintenance plan and the public planning promotion process." Additionally, the fact that the rental construction ratio is known to reach 21% of the total number of households is increasing resistance to public planning.

Seoul City postponed the urban planning committee submission originally scheduled for the 1st of this month and decided to listen to additional opinions after collective opposition opinions were continuously submitted during the resident inspection process, which ended on the 25th of last month. According to the industry, there are no other reconstruction complexes showing signs of participation in public planning besides Ogeum Hyundai.

An industry official said, "It seems that a considerable number of reconstruction complexes judge that the practical benefits are not significant due to the rejection caused by the name ‘public’ as well as the high rental ratio."

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