The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is reviewing an easing of density limits on private redevelopment projects, a change the Seoul Metropolitan Government has long sought. Seoul estimates that raising the current floor area ratio by 1.2 times would add 43,000 net new homes by 2031, bringing the total net increase to about 130,000 units. Attention is turning to whether housing supply in central Seoul will accelerate if the central government and the city reach agreement on detailed conditions.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met Land Minister Kim Yun-duk on the 26th to discuss housing supply measures. In a briefing at Seoul City Hall afterward, Oh said, "We did not reach a conclusion today either, but I felt that our views converged in several areas." He added, "We asked for the density cap to be eased by up to 1.2 times, and it has been confirmed that the ministry is reviewing this favorably."
According to the city, easing the floor area ratio by up to 1.2 times at redevelopment and rebuilding sites that have already won approval to form owners' associations would secure about 43,000 additional net new homes by 2031. That compares with the 87,000 net new units projected under an earlier plan to break ground on a total of 310,000 homes through redevelopment by 2031, an increase of nearly 50%.
Oh stressed the impact of the higher density cap, saying it amounts to "a scale as large as all the volume now being debated over whether to build in Yongsan or at the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center." He added, "It will be recorded as the most effective and visible construction volume among the items in these talks." MOLIT said in response that "no direction has been set regarding the floor area ratio."
Kim and Oh remained apart on using the main grounds of Yongsan Park for housing. Oh said, "I explained once again, with emphasis, that the entire main site of Yongsan Park must be preserved absolutely," reaffirming that there is no room for negotiation. Kim also said, "I saw that our views were not converging, but we cleared up many misunderstandings."
As an alternative to Yongsan Park, Seoul formally proposed to the central government a "southeastern youth-focused industrial complex" using the area around the Tancheon Water Reclamation Center. Under the city's plan, the reclamation center would be relocated and the surrounding site developed into a mixed-use hub combining physical artificial intelligence industries with housing for young adults. The city also laid out a specific funding plan drawing on land it owns, demonstrating the concreteness of the proposal. Seoul completed a consulting project in May last year to draw up a master plan for the confluence of the Yangjaecheon and Tancheon streams, covering the Eastern Road Management Office and SETEC sites adjacent to the reclamation center, and plans to complete a feasibility review for a private investment project to relocate the center by the end of this year. Kim said, "We talked with the intent of taking a look at it," adding, "We will analyze the materials."
Kim and Oh plan to meet again next week for further talks. They will continue discussions on remaining supply issues, including Seoul's proposals such as easing density limits on redevelopment projects. Kim said, "There is significance in the Seoul mayor and the land minister sending a joint message to the housing market, each conceding what can be conceded among our respective views and judgments." He added, "What matters is giving hope and confidence that housing can be supplied in Seoul quickly and in large volumes." Oh said, "I have come to expect that agreement on several pending issues we are hoping for can be reached all at once."
Meanwhile, the 73,000-unit package of new public housing sites that the government plans to announce as early as the end of next month is expected to include neither Yongsan Park nor any greenbelt land in Seoul. That increases the likelihood that additional sites will be selected mainly from greenbelt areas in Gyeonggi Province near Seoul, such as Hanam and Goyang. With talks on lifting greenbelt restrictions yet to take place with the city, greenbelt land in southern Seoul appears set to be excluded from this announcement. Kim Yi-tak, first vice minister of land, said on a KTV policy broadcast on the 24th that "the 73,000 units in the public housing site districts to be disclosed later do not include any volume from Seoul greenbelt land." Kim, the minister, also told reporters after meeting Oh that "Yongsan Park was never part of the 73,000 units from the start." He declined to say, however, whether the 73,000 units would consist solely of sites in Gyeonggi Province, explaining that "a considerable portion has been agreed, but it is not finalized."
