INCHEON — Incheon has selected six pilot zones totaling 16,267 units across five aging planned cities, setting the direction for their redevelopment. To curb an influx of speculation, the city set a rights-assessment cutoff date at the moment of designation, immediately restricting the practice of creating additional sale rights.
The city said on the 25th that it had finalized the designation of six zones across five districts — Yeonsu-Seonhak, Guwol, Mansu, Galsan-Bupyeong-Bugae and Gyesan — as pilot zones for redeveloping aging planned cities. It is the largest volume among such pilot zones nationwide.
The results showed sharply divided outcomes and evaluation scores across zones. Zone A3 in the Galsan-Bupyeong-Bugae district (comprising the Ukil, Daedong, Daejin, New Seoul and Donga complexes, 2,958 units) recorded an 87.8% consent rate and earned the highest score among all candidate sites at 91.9 points.
The largest concentration of units was in the Yeonsu-Seonhak district. Two areas were designated at once — Zone A7 (4,748 units), grouping four complexes including Hyundai No. 1, and Zone A12 (857 units), covering three complexes including Joheung — for a combined 5,605 units. The district's average resident consent rate was 90.3%, with an evaluation score of 87.4 points.
In addition, Zone B1 in the Guwol district (a coalition of seven complexes including Donga and Pungrim, 2,756 units) made the list with a consent rate of 87.5% (88.2 points). By contrast, Zone A5 in the Gyesan district (including Kkachimaeul Taehwa and Jakjeon Hyundai, 3,418 units) secured its designation with a consent rate of 73.8% (70.5 points), while Zone A4 in the Mansu 1, 2 and 3 district (including Samik and Jinheung, 1,530 units) did so with a consent rate of 63.5% (56.6 points).
For this call for applications, 21 zones (46,100 units) out of 39 designated special redevelopment areas applied, a ratio of 3.5 to 1. The city convened an evaluation committee of outside experts, which cross-checked all official records including property registers and building ledgers to screen the validity of consent forms.
Administrative measures to prevent market overheating from the designations were carried out in tandem. Under Article 39 of the Special Act on the Redevelopment and Support of Aging Planned Cities, the city immediately announced the rights-assessment cutoff date. As a result, the practice known as "exclusive-portion splitting," in which a single unit such as a shop or home is divided into several to increase the number of new-apartment sale rights, is fully restricted.
To help the projects take root, the city will deploy a master planner (MP) to each zone once resident representative groups are formed, providing close support for the key stage of drawing up special redevelopment plans and for permit administration. For the 15 zones that were not selected, the city plans to review the method of selecting sites and the volume to be pursued after 2027, following resident briefings and consultations with related agencies.
Yoo Kwang-jo, director-general of the city's Urban Balance Bureau, said the effort would go "beyond simply redeveloping aging residential areas to serve as a springboard for a leap into a smart city," adding that the city would "concentrate tailored administrative capacity from the earliest stages to build a leading model for the nation."
