Seoul City Selects 26 Moa Towns Including Wonhyo-ro 4-ga and Hapjeong-dong 369

26 out of 39 Applications from 19 Districts Selected
7 Areas Including Banpo 1-dong and Hapjeong 428 Excluded Due to Resident Conflicts and Speculation Concerns
Gangnam Daecheong Village 2 Sites Under Review for Selection Impact, Announcement to Follow

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has selected 26 sites as targets for the 'Moatown' style redevelopment project. Moatown is a district-level redevelopment method that groups together old low-rise residential areas, where large-scale redevelopment is difficult, and develops them like large apartment complexes.

On the 20th, Seoul held a Moatown target site selection committee and announced on the 21st that after comprehensively reviewing factors such as semi-basement houses, flood damage, and urgency, 26 out of 39 sites were selected as target sites.

Moatown is a redevelopment method that renovates old low-rise residential areas within 100,000㎡ where new and old buildings are mixed, expanding housing and underground parking lots. It has the advantage of resolving chronic problems of low-rise housing such as parking difficulties and preventing isolated apartments caused by indiscriminate individual projects. Once designated as Moatown, owners of adjacent multi-family and multiplex housing lots in the area can combine individual lots and jointly develop apartments in blocks of 1,500㎡ or more through Moahouse (small-scale housing redevelopment projects).

The target sites include ▲71 Wonhyo-ro 4-ga, Yongsan-gu ▲369 Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu ▲265 Eungbong-dong, Seongdong-gu ▲12-10 Jayang 4-dong, Gwangjin-gu ▲78 Jung-dong, Mapo-gu ▲152-1, 63-1 Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu ▲334-69, 261-22 Seokgwan-dong, Seongbuk-gu ▲411 Beon-dong, 52-1 Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu ▲957 Hwagok 6-dong, Gangseo-gu ▲270-38 Gaebong-dong, Guro-gu ▲864 Siheung 1-dong, 950 Siheung 3-dong, Geumcheon-gu ▲247-48 Dorim-dong, 786 Daerim 3-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu ▲500, 534 Wolgye-dong, Nowon-gu ▲170 Bulgwang-dong, 89 Daejo-dong, Eunpyeong-gu ▲221-24 Noryangjin-dong, 202-29 Sadang-dong, Dongjak-gu ▲1535 Cheongnyong-dong, Gwanak-gu ▲113-2 Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu, and others.

The city explained that it prioritized factors such as the proportion of semi-basement buildings vulnerable to safety and habitual flood-prone areas. In addition, the city comprehensively reviewed residents' willingness to participate, collective promotion of Moahouse, urgency due to worsening slum conditions, and other factors to select the final target sites. After each autonomous district establishes a management plan, the sites will be designated as 'Small-scale Housing Redevelopment Management Areas' with legal effect for Moatown through public inspection by Seoul residents and integrated review. The city will provide the necessary costs for establishing the management plan to the autonomous districts in the first half of next year, and once the plans are established, Moatown designation will proceed sequentially in the second half of next year.

The two sites in Daechung Village, Ilwon-dong, Gangnam-gu (Ilwon-dong 619-641, 663-686), which attracted attention, were deferred. Although the proportion of semi-basement houses is high and flood damage is a concern, the area is restricted in terms of building floors and apartments through district unit planning. Considering fairness with other areas that differ from the project’s purpose, additional review was deemed necessary. The city plans to form a subcommittee to further examine the impact on surrounding housing prices and announce the selection decision within two weeks.

Among the applicants, seven sites including 428 Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, and Banpo 1-dong, Seocho-gu, known to be the largest in scale, were excluded due to resident conflicts, speculation concerns, and lack of urgency for redevelopment. However, the city plans to allow these areas to reapply in the next round of public recruitment if the issues are resolved.

To block speculative forces from entering through 'share splitting' and other means, anti-speculation measures have also been prepared. Not only the selected target areas but also the non-selected areas will be designated and announced with October 27 of this year as the 'right calculation reference date.' Landowners who have not obtained a construction start report by the right calculation reference date will be subject to cash compensation if Moahouse is implemented on the respective lots later. Even if the construction start report is obtained by the reference date, ownership must be secured before the approval of the establishment of the individual Moahouse association to be eligible for allocation. However, if Moatown is not designated within two years from the right calculation reference date or if the area is excluded from the planning area, the right calculation reference date will automatically expire.

The city will also supplement the public recruitment criteria to exclude areas with speculation concerns or where residents oppose from the application targets by sufficiently collecting local opinions through resident briefings before Moatown applications.

Yoo Chang-soo, Director of the Housing Policy Office, said, "We will actively support the rapid establishment of plans and smooth progress of projects in all 64 sites selected as Moatown to actively improve the poor residential conditions of low-rise residential areas in Seoul."

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