Seoul Metropolitan Government to Improve 'Shinseotonghap Planning' Operations, Expand Early Resident Participation and Speed Up Follow-up Procedures

[Financial News] Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will completely overhaul the operation of Shinseotonghap Planning, now in its fifth year since introduction, to broaden communication with residents and accelerate project implementation.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 26th that it will immediately implement an "Operation Improvement Plan for Shinseotonghap Planning," which focuses on greatly expanding resident participation from the early planning stage and systematically supporting follow-up procedures after planning is completed.
As of the end of July, a total of 311 sites had been selected for Shinseotonghap Planning, and 192 of them had already completed planning. The city said it drew up the new plan to ensure the smooth achievement of its Ninth popularly elected term pledge to begin construction on 310,000 homes by 2031, while also reflecting voices from the field.
The improvement plan will be carried out along three main pillars.
First, procedures will be revised to strengthen resident communication in the early planning stage. Resident briefing sessions, which had previously been held only near the end of planning, will now be changed so that the Resident Participation Group can join from the on-site survey stage, the beginning of the planning process, and discuss local issues directly. If major issues arise, the city will transparently share the process through surveys and an online archive, and it will expand communication channels so residents can attend advisory meetings in person and present their views when needed. In addition, when forming the promotion committee, around 10 percent of the members will be included as consultation stakeholders to further strengthen resident representation.
Second, the city will support early groundbreaking through rapid follow-up procedures. It will increase the participation of Integrated Review Committee members starting from the advisory meeting stage of Shinseotonghap Planning to review issues in advance, and it will make prior consultations with the relevant department mandatory before integrated review. In particular, the city plans to have the Rapid Integrated Planner (MP·MA) or advisory committee members who directly took part in the planning explain the project during the review process, in order to maintain consistency and actively encourage approval in a single integrated review session.
Finally, the city will work to improve policy understanding and trust. It will expand the scope of the Shinseotonghap Planning online archive on the Official Website of the Seoul Metropolitan Government from completed planning areas to sites currently under development. In the second half of this year, it also plans to hold a traveling Shinseotonghap Planning exhibition at public facilities that are easily accessible to residents, after receiving applications from autonomous districts, to build broader public support for the policy.
Kim Chang-gyu, head of the Urban Space Bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "A good redevelopment plan begins with enough communication with residents and careful attention to local conditions," adding, "From the early planning stage, we will create plans together with residents and continue supporting follow-up procedures so that we can improve both quality and speed."

[email protected] Jeon Min-kyung Reporter