80,000 Housing Units Supplied 'Breath of Relief'... O Se-hoon’s Housing Supply Plan 'Smooth Sailing'

Rapid processing of permits and approvals during first 200 days
Redevelopment deregulation boosts popularity of fast-track integrated planning contest

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The housing supply policy under Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's administration, which marked its 200th day in office, is gaining momentum. The volume of housing units that have undergone supply procedures such as review and permits over nearly seven months has reached approximately 80,000 units. With the lowering of redevelopment entry barriers, including the Residential Maintenance Index system, expectations for projects in major aging residential areas are also rising.

According to Seoul City on the 4th, among the approximately 80,000 units undergoing supply procedures since Mayor Oh's inauguration, about half?48,000 units?have completed permits and are awaiting construction. The city has conducted a total of 90 reviews and permits over the past 200 days.

Among these, redevelopment and reconstruction projects have completed permits for about 37,000 units through architectural committee reviews and project implementation approvals. Redevelopment covers 18 districts, and reconstruction includes 25 complexes. Approximately 10,000 units of youth housing near subway stations are in the final stages of permit completion.

Jamsil Miseong Clover in Songpa-gu is a representative case. Although residents relocated in 2019, construction could not start for over two years due to the lack of a finalized design plan. The city finalized the design plan through architectural review in August this year, which included the previously restricted sky bridge due to disharmony with the surrounding landscape. Miseong Clover plans to supply 1,850 units through reconstruction.

Projects that had been delayed, such as Imun 4 District in Dongdaemun-gu, which has been stalled since its designation as a redevelopment promotion zone in 2006, and Daechi Woosung 1st Apartment in Gangnam-gu, where reconstruction was delayed due to opposition from commercial property owners, have also passed architectural reviews this time, marking a step forward.

The volume of housing units for which maintenance plans?the blueprint for maintenance projects?are being established totals 17,000 units. Over 200 days, the city conducted 33 reviews and issued two notifications for maintenance zone designations. Yongsan-gu Hannam 5 District, which had been stagnant for over 10 years since its designation as a redevelopment promotion zone in 2006, is set to transform into a large complex of 2,555 units after passing a plan securing public interest to protect the hillside landscape of Namsan. Gaepo Woosung 7th, the last puzzle piece of the Gaepo district in Gangnam-gu, also finalized a supply plan expanding 1.5 times the existing units. Projects in Jeonnong District of Dongdaemun-gu and Singil-eum District of Seongbuk-gu are also expected to proceed after about 15 years.

Since Mayor Oh's inauguration, a total of 17,000 units have either started construction or been completed, which is expected to partially alleviate the housing shortage and rental difficulties.

Mayor Oh has also eased regulations to expand redevelopment zone designations. Notably, the Residential Maintenance Index system was abolished, and the seven-story limit in Type 2 General Residential Areas was removed. The Rapid Integrated Planning, which involves the city from the maintenance plan establishment stage to enhance public interest while significantly shortening the maintenance zone designation period, was effectively successful, with 102 applications for about 25 candidate sites in last month's call for proposals.

Kim Seong-bo, Director of Seoul City's Housing Policy Office, said, "We have normalized administrative procedures for various housing supply projects that had been stalled due to artificial development suppression policies," adding, "We will focus all our capabilities on achieving the goal of supplying 800,000 housing units by 2030."

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