According to the Seoul city government and others on the 24th, there are currently 472 redevelopment projects underway in Seoul (about 484,000 households). Of these, 193 projects—about 41% of the total—are estimated to involve fewer than 500 households. Although individual projects are small in scale, concerns are being raised that, given the nature of small-scale redevelopment projects scattered across Seoul, the consistency of urban planning could be shaken if different standards are applied by each autonomous district.
Kim Dong-gu, acting director of Seoul's architecture planning office, made clear his opposition at a briefing held at Seoul City Hall, saying, "If different standards are set for a neighborhood right next door, it will cause not only inequity between zones but also serious conflicts among residents." He added, "If projects are run under separate standards depending on each district's interests or the district head's judgment, side effects such as disorderly development and disputes over preferential treatment are a concern."
If authority is actually dispersed to autonomous districts, standards for public contributions, land use, floor area ratio, and height could differ even within the same living zone. In particular, redevelopment sites bordering district boundaries could end up subject to different development standards across a single road. If different standards for floor area ratio or public contributions are applied depending on the district head's policy direction, gaps in profitability could arise, leading to disputes over preferential treatment and equity as well as resident conflicts, ultimately lengthening project timelines, critics note.
There is also concern that the "500-household" threshold could act as an incentive to break up existing redevelopment zones into smaller pieces. If interests among residents clash or a project is delayed while being pursued as a single zone, there could be moves to exclude certain areas or split the site to keep it under 500 households. The Seoul city government said, "If redevelopment projects are broken into pieces of fewer than 500 households, it becomes difficult to build the infrastructure needed for overall improvement of the residential environment," adding, "As zones shrink, daycare centers and senior centers become smaller, and it can become harder to secure amenities such as resident exercise facilities and small libraries."
The government and ruling party maintain that transferring redevelopment authority to autonomous districts would greatly reduce administrative procedures and shorten project timelines. Since the launch of the 9th popularly elected local governments, most of Seoul's autonomous districts have made revitalizing redevelopment projects a core initiative.
The Seoul city government also emphasized that autonomous districts already hold seven of the nine major permit and approval powers for redevelopment projects, including union establishment, project implementation approval, and management disposition. What the Seoul city government handles are just two: the review of redevelopment zone designation and integrated review. Rebutting claims that "the Seoul city government is the bottleneck for redevelopment projects," it said that over the past three years the average processing period for zone designation review was 84 days and for integrated review 32 days, with a 97% approval rate for integrated reviews. The two procedures take about four months, or about 2.7% of the overall 12-year redevelopment project timeline.
Concerns are also being voiced in the field over the government and ruling party's push to transfer redevelopment permit and approval powers. An official from one redevelopment union, who requested anonymity, said, "If authority is transferred to district heads, given their sensitivity to complaints, the possibility of disorderly development cannot be ruled out," adding, "As important as the pace of individual project sites is the integrated management of a control tower that can see the whole forest."
Whether autonomous districts have secured enough specialized personnel to carry out zone designation and the like is also at issue. Currently, the Seoul city government operates the urban planning committee for zone designation and the integrated review, which handles nine fields including architecture, transportation, and the environment. Acting director Kim pointed out, "There are probably almost no employees in autonomous districts who have experienced this," adding, "There are almost no personnel who have reviewed and coordinated multiple fields to make decisions." The transfer of authority intended to speed up projects could instead create new administrative bottlenecks, he said.
Experts point out that even if authority is transferred to autonomous districts, a separate mechanism is needed to ensure consistency with metropolitan-wide urban planning. One real estate expert who requested anonymity said, "If autonomous districts handle zone designation, it could speed up projects in that plans can be drawn up to suit local conditions and demand," but stressed, "A mechanism is needed to enable close prior consultation with the Seoul city government so that projects harmonize with overall urban management policy and do not lead to disorderly development."
