Construction of Senior Complex Welfare Town in Sinwon-dong, Seocho-gu Underway

On the 13th of last month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Central Urban Planning Committee approved the amendment to the management plan for the development-restricted area

The district has made multifaceted efforts since 2019 to promote construction, achieving success after 5 years of progress

The 'Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town' has a total budget of about 100 billion KRW, a large scale, and will be smoothly promoted through close consultation with the government and Seoul City

Bird's-eye view

The administrative procedures for promoting the advanced senior welfare facility 'Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town' in preparation for the upcoming super-aged society were completed on the 13th of last month, and plans are underway to promptly begin the architectural design process aiming for completion in 2027.

Seocho-gu (District Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 1st that the amendment to the management plan for the development-restricted area around Sinwon-dong for the construction of the 'Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town' has passed all reviews at the 8th Central Urban Planning Committee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

As of June this year, the population aged 65 and over in South Korea is 18.5%, and the country is approaching entry into a super-aged society by late 2024 to early 2025. Compared to the rapidly increasing elderly population, nursing facilities are concentrated in provincial areas, making the elderly care environment in Seoul very vulnerable. In particular, Seocho-gu has a waiting list ratio of 427% compared to the capacity of existing elderly nursing facilities, and the elderly population is also rapidly increasing, making the expansion of senior welfare infrastructure an urgent matter.

Accordingly, since 2019, the district has been promoting the complex welfare town project targeting the area around 225 Sinwon-dong. During this time, various issues were resolved through ▲ gathering opinions via resident briefings ▲ benchmarking and analyzing domestic and international advanced cases ▲ continuous consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul City to resolve disagreements related to the development-restricted area, completing all administrative procedures after 5 years of project promotion.

The 'Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town' will serve as a hub facility for dementia management as well as a welfare facility needed by residents, with a scale of 2 basement floors to 5 above-ground floors and a total floor area of 27,892㎡, including ▲ elderly nursing facilities (18,492㎡) ▲ health center (900㎡) ▲ resident convenience facilities (cultural and sports facilities) (1,060㎡).

First, the elderly nursing facility will install the nation's largest nursing facility with a capacity of 355 people, introducing an advanced nursing system. The area per elderly person will be maximized to allow them to live comfortably in a home-like environment. Additionally, facilities will be separated according to symptoms to provide customized care based on each elderly person's health condition.

Along with this, a health center will be established to operate various programs that help maintain seniors' health, including medical services and dementia-specialized programs. Furthermore, resident convenience facilities such as a small library and sports facilities will be installed to serve as spaces that local residents can use together.

The estimated construction cost of the Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town exceeds 100 billion KRW, which is a considerably large scale for a single project compared to Seocho-gu's total budget of 850 billion KRW this year.

Accordingly, the district secured about 10 billion KRW in national funds by being selected for the government's 'Living SOC Complex Project' contest in 2020 at the start of the project. It also formed a deep consensus with Seoul City on the importance of securing nursing facilities and views city funding support positively. Going forward, the district plans to proceed smoothly with facility expansion in preparation for the super-aged society through close consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government, and Seoul City.

Seocho District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, “We will continue to do our best until the construction of the Seocho-type Complex Welfare Town so that all residents can spend a comfortable old age in 'Seocho, where everyone is happy today and looks forward to tomorrow.'”

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