[Interview] Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu: "Rapid Advancement of Nowon-gu's Top Priority, Reconstruction"

Delivery of Resident Petition Urging Ordinance Amendment for Advance Payment of Reconstruction Safety Inspection Costs

Notification of No Need for Adequacy Review for Two Conditionally Approved Reconstruction Complexes

Full Effort for Rapid Reconstruction Promotion Including Completion of Reconstruction Support System through Nowon Reconstruction and Redevelopment Rapid Promotion Team and Reconstruction Rapid Promotion TF Team

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “We have delivered a petition containing the voices of about 70,000 district residents.”

At the end of last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s ordinance to have Nowon-gu support the detailed safety inspection costs in advance and recover them before the completion approval was postponed, putting the amendment at risk of failure. In response, the district office directly visited the Seoul Metropolitan Council and the Seoul Housing Policy Office on the 16th to deliver a petition containing the voices of about 70,000 district residents.

Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok explained, “The relaxation of safety inspection standards announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year is the fruit of efforts that Nowon-gu has devoted considerable attention to.” He added, “However, one of the factors delaying rapid reconstruction promotion is the collection of safety inspection costs.” He further stated, “Collecting safety inspection costs amounting to hundreds of millions of won at once from each household takes a considerable amount of time and causes conflicts and distrust among residents, which is a major obstacle in the early stages.” He expressed hope that the Seoul Metropolitan Council and Seoul City would recognize the sincere aspirations of the residents.

Nowon currently has 55 apartment complexes with more than 30 years elapsed, totaling about 74,000 households, the largest number among Seoul’s autonomous districts. By 2030, this will increase to 124 complexes with about 111,000 households, accounting for 88.4% of all apartments in Nowon-gu. By 2032, it will account for 92.7% of all apartments.

Due to burdens such as heating and cooling costs, inter-floor noise, rust caused by aging water pipes, parking difficulties, and aging infrastructure, the population has decreased by more than 100,000 in the past 10 years. This population outflow leads to weakening urban competitiveness, making the situation urgent from the district’s perspective.

On the 3rd, the district notified the Sangye Mido and Hagye Jangmi Apartments, which had received conditional reconstruction judgments, that adequacy review was unnecessary. Mayor Oh said, “Now, the second safety inspection adequacy review by public institutions can be omitted at the discretion of the district mayor.” He added, “We quickly convened a committee of external experts to carefully review based on the Ministry of Land’s checklist standards and decided that adequacy review was unnecessary.”

With this, a total of six complexes in Nowon-gu have passed the safety inspection standards. Currently, three complexes are undergoing reconstruction safety inspections, and 29 complexes have passed the on-site preliminary safety inspections. Mayor Oh said, “We will closely communicate with complexes willing to reconstruct and cooperate as much as possible.”

On the 7th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport finalized the main points of the Special Act on the Maintenance and Support of Aging Planned Cities. Mayor Oh welcomed the enactment of the special law and began reviewing its impact and countermeasures on Nowon-gu’s reconstruction. Aging planned cities subject to the special law are sites larger than 1 million square meters where more than 20 years have passed since the completion of land development projects. Among Nowon-gu’s reconstruction complexes, 16 complexes in Sangye-dong and 13 in Junggye-dong fall under this category.

Designation as an ‘Aging Planned City Special Maintenance Zone’ grants various supports and exemptions, such as relaxed urban architectural regulations including floor area ratio and land use zones, and safety inspection regulations. Additionally, integrated review of various permits simplifies project procedures, and designation as a minimum location regulation zone allows for high-density, complex development near subway stations.

However, not all aging planned cities over 20 years old are automatically subject to the special law. The Seoul Mayor is required to establish a basic plan. The district plans to actively present opinions to Seoul City to ensure Nowon-gu’s designation. Since the enforcement of the special law is expected to take considerable time, the district will simultaneously work on revising the district unit plans for the Sangye, Junggye, and Hagye areas this year to reflect the relaxed provisions of the special law in the district unit plans. Mayor Oh said, “We will review the results of the district unit plan revision and the enactment trends of the special law from multiple perspectives and do our best to ensure rapid reconstruction.”

Already, to swiftly respond to changing reconstruction circumstances, the district launched the ‘Nowon Reconstruction and Redevelopment Rapid Promotion Team,’ the nation’s first public-private consultative body, in September last year. Composed of 90 members including members of the National Assembly, city and district councilors, reconstruction and redevelopment stakeholders, related private organizations, and experts, the Rapid Promotion Team holds biannual regular meetings and subcommittee meetings as needed to explore rapid reconstruction promotion measures and discuss system improvements.

Additionally, a Rapid Promotion TF team was newly established, completing the support system. The district produces reconstruction maintenance project manuals and supports smooth promotion through customized consulting, operation of counseling centers, and education and publicity on maintenance projects. As reconstruction activity increases, the district plans to activate a dispute mediation team that visits apartments to prepare for various conflicts. The team, composed of 3 to 5 members such as housing managers, engineers, accountants, and lawyers, will help autonomously resolve disputes through dialogue and compromise before conflicts become entrenched.

The district also completed the ‘Joint Housing Reconstruction Support Plan Establishment Service’ to support reconstruction promotion tailored to local conditions. It analyzes the business feasibility of reconstruction complexes and establishes step-by-step implementation plans to include measures for revitalizing reconstruction.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Population outflow due to poor residential environments is directly linked to the survival of the city.” He added, “We will spare no support to enable Nowon-gu to become the most livable city through rapid reconstruction and improvement of residential environments.”

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