Yongsan International Business District Development Plan Amendment Passes Seoul Review... Sky Trail to Be Partially Installed

Development Plan Amendment for Urban Development Zone Passes Urban Planning Committee Review
Revised Plan Reflects Changes to 45-Story Sky Trail in Work Complex Zone
Implementation Plan Approval Targeted for November, Infrastructure Construction to Begin Within the Year

The plan to amend the development plan for the Yongsan International Business District urban development zone has passed the Seoul Metropolitan Government's review. The requirement to install a sky trail, originally planned to connect the work complex zone at a height of 45 stories over 1.1 kilometers, has been relaxed so that it is now mandatory only for certain plots.

On the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it held the 15th Urban Planning Committee meeting the previous day and approved the amendment to the designation and development plan for the Yongsan International Business District urban development zone with modifications.

In June, the city received a request from Yongsan-gu to decide on the amendment to the zone and development plan, as well as the implementation plan, and proceeded with the relevant administrative procedures. Through this review, the city has laid the groundwork for the approval of the implementation plan and the start of construction. The city aims to obtain approval for the implementation plan by November.

The amended development plan includes the creation of a pedestrian network radiating from Yongsan Station to each plot. The plot plan has been designed to allow light and wind to flow between buildings, and an open green system along the Han River will be established. Sufficient open space at ground level will be secured to significantly enhance user convenience and environmental features. Overall, the shape of the plots has been adjusted to make building placement easier, and improvements to the road system are expected to enhance traffic flow.

The amended development plan stipulates that the sky trail will only be installed on one plot in the international business zone (A1) and on certain plots in the work complex zone (B3, B5-7, and B9). For plots B5 to B7, the installation of the sky trail is recommended rather than mandatory. The land behind Yongsan Station owned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been excluded. The total area has been reduced from the originally planned 494,601 square meters to 456,609 square meters, a decrease of 38,502 square meters. The park, which was initially planned as a "cover park," has been renamed a "cultural park." It will be developed as a three-dimensional park, created on private land or artificial ground above buildings.

The number of housing units to be supplied has also been adjusted compared to the original plan. The initial plan was to supply 6,000 units (3,500 apartments and 2,500 officetels), but this has been reduced to 5,350 units. Of these, 3,500 will be apartments, with 875 designated as rental housing. The number of officetels will be reduced from the original 2,500 units, but the proportion of medium and large units will be increased, with 1,850 units to be built on work complex land.

The Yongsan International Business District development project is a large-scale initiative to transform the Yongsan Station maintenance depot site into a "three-dimensional, mixed-use vertical city" that integrates work, residential, and leisure functions. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to accelerate efforts to attract global companies in order to develop the Yongsan International Business District into a business hub for the Asia-Pacific region. In cooperation with the central government, the city will establish strategies to attract global companies and encourage investment from leading overseas firms through meetings, forums, and international conferences.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to proceed without delay with the amendment of the zone and development plan, approval and announcement of the implementation plan, and the commencement of infrastructure construction within the year, as soon as the relevant preliminary administrative procedures such as traffic and disaster impact assessments are completed. The city and the project implementers (KORAIL and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation) have been cooperating to review designs and establish construction plans so that work can begin immediately after the implementation plan is approved.

Lim Changsoo, Director of Future Space Planning at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "We will make every effort to develop the Yongsan maintenance depot site, which has been neglected for over 10 years, so that Seoul can stay ahead in the fierce competition among international cities. We aim to create the Yongsan International Business District as an innovative global business hub and an attractive urban space accessible to all citizens."

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