The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has begun reviewing Seoul's long-standing request to ease floor area ratio limits on private redevelopment projects, raising expectations for expanded housing supply in the capital. The Seoul Metropolitan Government estimates that raising current density caps by 1.2 times would secure roughly 43,000 additional net new homes through redevelopment by 2031. The city also said it would consider releasing land from the greenbelt, the city's development restriction zone, on the condition that the government withdraw its plan to build housing on the Yongsan Park site. Housing supply in Seoul is expected to accelerate if the two sides reach an agreement.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Land Minister Kim Yoon-duk on the 26th to discuss housing supply measures, then told reporters at Seoul City Hall that the ministry had confirmed it was reviewing the request favorably. "We asked that the floor area ratio rules be eased by up to 1.2 times, and we confirmed that MOLIT is reviewing this progressively," Oh said. "We did not reach a conclusion, but I felt that our positions narrowed on several points."
According to the city, easing floor area ratios by up to 1.2 times at redevelopment and rebuilding sites that have already won union establishment approval would yield about 43,000 additional net new homes by 2031. That compares with the 87,000 net new homes cited in the city's earlier plan to break ground on a total of 310,000 homes through redevelopment by 2031, an increase of nearly 50%. "It is as large as the combined volume we have been debating over whether to build in Yongsan or at the Tancheon Water Recycling Center," Oh said. "It will be recorded as the most effective and visible construction volume among the items discussed at this meeting." MOLIT said in response that no direction had been decided on floor area ratios.
The two sides remained apart on housing supply using the main site of Yongsan Park. "I explained once again, with emphasis, that the entire main site of Yongsan Park must be preserved absolutely," Oh said, stressing that there was no room for negotiation. Kim also said he judged that the positions had not converged, but that many misunderstandings had been cleared up.
Seoul had opposed releasing greenbelt land but decided to review the matter favorably on the condition that the housing plan for Yongsan Park be withdrawn. After the meeting, Kim wrote on his Facebook page that he welcomed Seoul's position that it would review the greenbelt issue progressively, and that he hoped for more advanced discussions at the next meeting. A Seoul city official said the intent was that the city could consider releasing greenbelt land that has already been damaged and has low conservation value, on the condition that the plan to supply housing inside Yongsan Park is withdrawn. Kim had previously said he could consider supplying housing through the release of greenbelt land in Seoul, provided the city agreed. The next meeting may therefore include further discussion of the specific scope of greenbelt use and the volume of housing that could be supplied.
As an alternative to Yongsan Park, Seoul formally proposed to the government a "southeastern youth-focused industrial complex" using the area around the Tancheon Water Recycling Center. The city's plan is to relocate the facility and develop the surrounding site 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. It completed a commissioned study in May last year on a master plan for the confluence of the Yangjaecheon and Tancheon streams, covering the water recycling center as well as the adjacent Eastern Road Management Office and SETEC sites, and plans to complete a feasibility review for a private investment project to relocate the facility by the end of this year. Kim said the discussion was intended as a commitment to review the proposal and that he would analyze the materials.
Kim and Oh plan to meet again next week to continue their talks, taking up remaining supply issues including the easing of redevelopment floor area ratios and the greenbelt. "What matters is giving hope and confidence that housing can be supplied in Seoul quickly and in large volumes," 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." Oh said he had come to expect that several pending issues could be settled at once.
