Seoul City: "No Exceptions for Apgujeong... Strict Action Against 'Fishing Plans' Disrupting the Market"

Briefing on Apgujeong 3 District Design Competition on the 14th
Heerim Proposes Floor Area Ratio of 360%, Exceeding Allowable Limit
"A Shallow Tactic Aimed Solely at Winning," Criticized

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "We will not tolerate actions that disrupt the market with exaggerated and baiting plans solely to win reconstruction and redevelopment design competitions."

Recently, when the consortium of Heerim Architects & Planners and Now Architects proposed a plan exceeding the floor area ratio (FAR) of 300% allowed by Seoul in the design competition for the reconstruction of Apgujeong District 3, which involves a design fee of 30 billion KRW, the city held an emergency briefing on the 14th and took a strong stance. Seoul said, "They tried to deceive the union members by submitting design proposals that do not comply with the competition guidelines," and has already filed complaints against the two architectural firms for attempted fraud and obstruction of business.

Perspective View of 'The Apgujeong' in Apgujeong 3 District Proposed by Heerim Architects

According to Seoul, Heerim Architects submitted a reconstruction plan as a competition proposal with an FAR of 360%, exceeding the current standard through eco-friendly incentives, and without rental housing. This contradicts Seoul's Rapid Integrated Maintenance Support Plan, which emphasizes an FAR of 300% or less and social mix including rental housing.

Seoul explained, "Although the city announced that the design proposal by the above architectural firm is impossible under current standards, the company repeatedly claims that the FAR they proposed can be achieved, arguing that it can be changed at the maintenance plan drafting stage." The city condemned this behavior as "a shallow tactic based on the idea that once they secure the project rights, they can profit regardless of subsequent project delays."

Seoul has currently issued a corrective order to suspend the design competition process for Apgujeong District 3. As a result, the union members' general meeting scheduled for the 15th to select the winning design may be canceled.

Seoul emphasized, "We will eliminate the unfortunate practice of deceiving union members to win with unreasonable project plans, which are then adjusted through prolonged negotiations with the licensing authorities," and added, "We will minimize the waste of private and public interests through housing policies." Furthermore, Seoul stated, "Apgujeong is no exception," and declared, "We will strictly respond to and never tolerate actions that disrupt the market solely for the purpose of winning design competitions."

On the other hand, Seoul also acknowledged that the city and district offices bear responsibility for the mudslinging involving bribery and exaggerated publicity that have emerged over the past decades during the selection process of construction companies and architectural firms for redevelopment and reconstruction projects. Seoul said, "The district offices and the city, as supervisory agencies, have turned a blind eye under the excuse that it is merely the work of private unions," and added, "We sincerely apologize to the citizens for our inadequate response so far."

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