Seoul City Increases Floor Area Ratio by 1.2 Times for Eco-Friendly Buildings

For the Promotion of Eco-Friendly Architecture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] In the future, when building eco-friendly buildings in Seoul, additional floor area ratio incentives up to 1.2 times the legal limit will be available.

Seoul City announced on the 23rd that it will improve the standards for establishing district unit plans to include this content.

According to the improvement plan, the floor area ratio incentives, which were previously applied only to infrastructure donations, will also be applied to "eco-friendly buildings exceeding mandatory standards," raising the legal limit to 120%. This applies to cases certified as Zero Energy Building (ZEB), green building and building energy efficiency certification, use of recycled building materials, or long-life housing certification.

For example, in quasi-residential areas, the previous eco-friendly incentive applied up to 400% will be raised to 500% if ZEB Grade 1, use of more than 20% recycled building materials, or the highest rating in long-life housing certification is obtained. If combined with land donation, it can be applied up to a maximum of 600%.

This measure is in response to criticisms that incentives related to increasing eco-friendly buildings in Seoul are insufficient. According to Seoul City statistics, among 6,759 cases of incentive application over the past 10 years since 2010, only 704 cases were eco-friendly incentives.

The improved planning standards will be immediately applied to building permits and housing construction projects within district unit plan areas. However, projects with separate floor area ratio systems, such as redevelopment projects and station-area youth housing projects, will have their applicability reviewed during the revision process of related plans such as the basic redevelopment plan.

Cho Namjun, Director of the Urban Planning Bureau, said, "As eco-friendly practices have become essential nowadays, a leading role at the urban planning level is also necessary," adding, "Seoul City will continue to do its best to promote related system improvements in line with national efforts to respond to the climate crisis."

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