According to the city government on the 25th, of the 472 redevelopment projects (about 484,000 units) currently under way in Seoul, 193 — roughly 41% of the total — involve fewer than 500 units. If the plan proceeds as the government and ruling party intend, permit authority for four out of every 10 redevelopment sites in Seoul would shift to the district offices.
Seoul warned that dispersing zone-designation authority across the 25 autonomous districts would seriously undermine the consistency of citywide urban planning. The "urban planning control tower" function — which comprehensively coordinates the capacity of wide-area infrastructure such as roads, parks and water and sewage systems, along with harmony with adjacent districts — could be paralyzed, the city said.
Kim Dong-gu, acting director of Seoul's architecture planning bureau, said in a briefing on the 24th, "If different standards are set for a neighborhood right next door, it will create not only inequity between zones but also serious conflict among residents." He added, "If separate standards are applied based on each district's interests or the district mayor's judgment, haphazard development and favoritism disputes are inevitable."
If the authority is transferred, there is a strong risk that floor area ratios, height limits and public contribution rates would be applied inconsistently even within the same living zone. In particular, redevelopment sites bordering district lines could face different development standards across a single road. Officials point out that if different standards for floor area ratios or public contributions are applied depending on a district mayor's policy direction, gaps in project profitability would emerge, leading to disputes over favoritism and fairness as well as resident conflicts — ultimately lengthening project timelines.
The city also worries about "site splitting" to fit under the 500-unit threshold for the transfer of authority. If interests clash among residents or a project is delayed while being pursued as a single zone, there could be moves to exclude portions of the area or split the site to keep it under 500 units. "If redevelopment projects are chopped into units of fewer than 500, it becomes difficult to build the infrastructure needed to improve the overall residential environment," a Seoul official said. "When zones get smaller, daycare centers and senior centers shrink, and amenities such as resident fitness facilities or small libraries may be hard to secure."
The government and ruling party, by contrast, argue the transfer would cut complex administrative procedures and dramatically shorten project timelines. Since district offices are making redevelopment promotion a core campaign pledge, they contend, faster supply is possible.
Seoul countered that districts already hold seven of the nine key permit powers in redevelopment projects, including union establishment, project implementation approval and management disposition. Only two procedures — deliberation on redevelopment zone designation and integrated deliberation — are handled by the city, it said.
Experts say that even if authority is transferred to the districts, a separate mechanism is needed to ensure consistency with citywide urban planning. A real estate expert who asked not to be named said, "If districts handle zone designation, there could be an effect of speeding up projects, since plans can be drafted to fit local conditions and demand." Still, he stressed, "A mechanism is needed for close advance consultation with the city government so that plans harmonize with overall urban management policy and do not lead to haphazard development."
Responding to claims that Seoul is the bottleneck in redevelopment, the city said the average processing period over the past three years was 84 days for zone-designation deliberation and 32 days for integrated deliberation, with an approval rate of 97% for integrated deliberation. The two procedures take about four months, or roughly 2.7% of the 12 years an entire redevelopment project takes.
Concerns are also being voiced on the ground over the government and ruling party's push to transfer permit authority. An official at one redevelopment union, who asked not to be named, said, "If authority is handed to district mayors, the possibility of haphazard development cannot be ruled out, given how sensitive they are to complaints." He added, "Integrated management by a control tower that can see the whole forest is just as important as the pace of individual projects."
Whether districts have enough specialized personnel to handle zone designation is another point of contention. The city currently operates the urban planning committee for zone designation as well as integrated deliberation covering nine areas including architecture, transportation and the environment. "There are probably almost no staff at the district level with experience in this," Kim said. "There is hardly anyone who has reviewed and coordinated multiple fields to reach a decision." A transfer of authority meant to speed up projects, he suggested, could instead create a new administrative bottleneck.
