Controversy Over 12,000 Households in Guryong Village... Residents Say "Suddenly Without Any Contact"

Seoul City and SH Also Say "No Prior Consultation"

Location map of Guryong Village

"I saw the news and thought, 'What on earth is going on?' There was no communication with the residents at all." (Yu Guibeom, Chairman of the Guryong Village Residents' Autonomy Association)

Residents could not hide their bewilderment at the ruling party’s pledge to build 12,000 housing units in Guryong Village, the last unauthorized shantytown in Gangnam, Seoul, and a prime piece of land. The development plan for Guryong Village first emerged in the 1990s but has yet to break ground. This is because stakeholders?including residents, landowners, Seoul City, and Gangnam District?have not reached consensus on the development method and compensation plans.

Resident relocation is considered one of the top priorities in the Guryong Village development. Chairman Yu expressed doubts about the ruling party’s pledge, saying, "They said they would provide housing rights, but as far as we know, current laws do not allow for granting such rights."

He added, "If the usual development method is applied, the sale price could exceed 50 million KRW per pyeong (approximately 3.3 square meters), and residents cannot afford to move in at that price." He further explained, "If residents receive land and carry out the project through local housing cooperatives or similar methods, houses can be built at about 20 million KRW per pyeong."

It was confirmed that the ruling party did not consult in advance with Seoul City or SH Corporation, the entities responsible for the Guryong Village development project. A Seoul City official said, "Since the development of Guryong Village has been delayed, we are willing to engage in discussions if there is a request related to development." An SH Corporation official also stated, "There has been no prior discussion. We understand it as a pledge-level announcement."

Some view the one-sided announcement as an empty promise. Ko Jun-seok, an adjunct professor at Dongguk University Law School, said, "They intend to pursue high-density development with a floor area ratio of 500%, but it is questionable whether residents and landowners will agree." He added, "There is a possibility that the project plan could be derailed by resident opposition, as seen in Taereung, Gwacheon, and Yongsan Maintenance Depot." The government had announced plans in 2020’s ‘8.4 Measures’ to supply a large number of houses at the Government Complex Gwacheon and Taereung Golf Course, but these were canceled or scaled down due to resident opposition.

On the 15th, the Democratic Party announced that if presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung comes to power, Guryong Village will be publicly developed to supply 12,000 housing units, of which 5,000 will be offered to youth and newlyweds at less than half the market price. Regarding residents’ concerns or resistance to rental housing, the party stated, "We will resolve this by building top-tier branded apartments that are incomparable to public rental housing."

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