From Jongmyo to Toegye-ro, Seven Aging Shopping Districts in 'Sewoon District' Transformed into Parks

Seoul City to Exhibit Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion Plan on 25th
Creating 140,000㎡ Urban Green Space

Seven aging commercial complexes lined up from Jongmyo to Toegye-ro in Seoul will be transformed into parks. The project will be carried out in phases, starting with the centrally located Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel. On both sides of the park, ultra-high-rise buildings such as office facilities and residential complexes will be constructed, and large-scale cultural spaces including a dedicated musical theater will be created underground.

Bird's-eye view of the Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District plan. [Image provided by Seoul City]

Seoul City unveiled the "Saeun Redevelopment Promotion Plan Amendment" containing these details on the 24th. Resident opinions will be collected from the 25th of this month until the 8th of next month. The plan includes development guidelines to convert approximately 430,000㎡ of land from Jongmyo to the Toegye-ro area into a green ecological urban center.

The Saeun Redevelopment Promotion District is the most deteriorated area in the city center. Following the restoration of Cheonggyecheon Stream, the city designated Saeun Shopping Center and its surrounding area as a redevelopment promotion district in 2006. However, due to the global financial crisis in the late 2000s and the real estate market slump, Seoul’s policy shifted towards regeneration and preservation, losing momentum to push redevelopment projects.

In the Saeun district, 97% of buildings are over 30 years old, and 57% are wooden structures vulnerable to collapse and fire. More than 40% of these buildings do not meet current fire safety standards, and 65% of roads fail to secure the minimum 6-meter width required for fire truck access. This situation poses a serious threat not only to daily convenience but also to the safety of local residents and citizens.

Particularly, the Saeun Redevelopment Promotion Plan announced in 2014 divided the area into 171 small zones, making it difficult to secure infrastructure such as roads for each zone and resulting in low project feasibility due to various building regulations like height restrictions. So far, only 24 zones have seen project progress, while 147 zones face deregistration as redevelopment areas. The city plans to consolidate these 147 zones into 23 zones and relax regulations to revitalize private redevelopment.

The core plan is to convert the aging commercial complexes within the Saeun district into parks, creating a green corridor extending from Jongmyo to Namsan. Saeun, Cheonggye, Daerim, Sampung, Inhyeon, Jinyang Shopping Centers, and PJ Hotel will be gradually transformed into parks, forming a linear park of approximately 139,000㎡ within the Saeun district.

Seoul City will first designate Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel as urban planning facility parks and begin development. Land designated as parks will be subject to negotiated purchase. The city will negotiate with landowners for acquisition. Currently, the city prioritizes negotiations with owners but ultimately may resort to expropriation.

Inhyeon Shopping Center is proposed to be redeveloped in integration with the 6-4-1 zone around Jung-gu Office. Residents of Saeun Apartments within Inhyeon Shopping Center reportedly wish to demolish the aging apartments and pursue integrated development with surrounding zones. The city intends to facilitate rapid redevelopment by implementing public-led integrated redevelopment.

The remaining shopping complexes have been designated as preservation redevelopment zones (for park land). The city plans to designate all shopping complexes as preservation redevelopment zones and implement phased park development, encouraging integrated redevelopment of shopping complexes through public hearings and briefings. Additionally, remaining shops will be continuously acquired through donations during zone-specific redevelopment projects.

Bird's-eye view of the Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District plan [Image provided by Seoul City]

Ultra-high-rise buildings are planned to be constructed on both sides of the shopping complexes being converted into parks. The use of the Euljiro area will be upgraded to a central commercial district for office and commercial facility development. The city expects to supply over 1 million square meters of new industrial infrastructure through this. An industrial exchange space will be created to attract various companies and talents. Furthermore, a residential complex of about 10,000 households will be developed around Cheonggyecheon and downtown parks. Ten percent of the housing supply will be urban rental housing aimed at office workers, youth, and newlyweds.

The city plans to revitalize the Chungmuro area, which is currently in decline due to the downtown commercial district downturn and structural changes in the film industry, as a cultural hub once again. When the private sector redevelops Chungmuro, installation of cultural facilities of a certain scale, such as performance halls, will be mandatory. Publicly, a large-scale musical theater with 1,200 seats will be built beneath the downtown park area in Euljiro.

This plan also includes measures for small local businesses. When redevelopment occurs, if private developers provide tenant measures such as temporary shops, priority sales rights, or lease rights beyond legal compensation, floor area ratio incentives will be granted. The plan also includes phased supply of public rental shops to help existing small businesses resettle.

Yeo Jang-kwon, head of Seoul City’s Balanced Development Headquarters, said, “Since the Jongmyo-Toegye-ro area is a core leading project of the green ecological urban recreation strategy, we will fully support the swift implementation of redevelopment projects.”

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