Land and Property Acquisition Completed in Guryong Village... Nature-Friendly Complex to Be Built by 2029

The land acquisition process has been completed in Guryong Village, the last shantytown in Gangnam, Seoul, after two years of compensation negotiations.

On the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) had completed the acquisition of land and property ownership within the Guryong Village urban development project area. This has laid the foundation for transforming Guryong Village, which has been exposed to safety hazards such as fires and floods, into a pleasant residential environment.

Bird's-eye view of the Guryong Village urban development project. Provided by Seoul City

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Guryong Village is an unauthorized shantytown formed in the 1970s and 1980s as evictees and others relocated there. Although it was first designated as an urban development area in 2012, the project was delayed for a long period due to changes in the development method and other factors. After the area was re-designated in 2016 and a project developer was selected, the project got back on track.

In March of this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the winning design for the Guryong Village urban development project and revealed plans to create a nature-friendly residential complex in the area by 2029, where young people, newlyweds, and the elderly can coexist. In May last year, the city relaxed regulations by increasing the floor area ratio and other measures, raising the number of households from 2,838 to 3,520. The new development will include 1,107 rental units for existing residents, as well as long-term lease and public sale housing.

Starting with the announcement of the compensation plan in May 2023, the city held three rounds of compensation councils and conducted appraisals before proceeding with negotiated contracts. For land and property where agreements could not be reached, the city proceeded with expropriation procedures in accordance with the Land Compensation Act. Expropriation is a legal process in which the project operator first attempts to reach a negotiated contract with the owner for the acquisition of land or property for a public project, and if an agreement cannot be reached, the operator may acquire the land or property through the local Land Expropriation Committee.

Bird's-eye view of the Guryong Village urban development project. Provided by Seoul City

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Once an expropriation application is submitted, the local Land Expropriation Committee determines the expropriation compensation, and owners can apply for and receive the compensation. For owners who do not apply for compensation, SH Corporation deposits the compensation with the Seoul Central District Court. Ownership of the land and property can only be acquired once all these procedures are completed.

As a result, of the 240,000 square meters of private land, about 160,000 square meters were acquired through negotiated contracts. For the remaining 80,000 square meters, an expropriation application was filed in July 2024, and expropriation began on February 7, with ownership registration transferred to SH Corporation. Regarding properties such as greenhouses and temporary structures, negotiations were conducted for 967 out of a total of 1,931 cases where owners were identified, resulting in 337 negotiated contracts. For properties without agreement or with unidentified owners, expropriation procedures were carried out in two rounds, with expropriation starting in May and August, respectively, and the ownership acquisition process completed.

Kim Changgyu, Director of the Balanced Development Headquarters at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "With the transfer of land and property ownership in Guryong Village to SH Corporation now complete, the foundation has been laid for the creation of a nature-friendly residential complex. We will continue to communicate with residents who have not yet relocated to ensure they can move to safe housing, and we will do our best to ensure that public housing construction can begin stably in the second half of next year."

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