Banghak Station Urban Public Housing Complex District Begins 'First Demolition' Five Years After Candidate-Site Selection

[Financial News]  The Banghak Station Urban Public Housing Complex District in Seoul has become the first among the candidate sites to begin demolition. Starting with Banghak Station, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) plans to supply 7,755 homes across six urban complex districts in Seoul.
According to LH on the 21st, a ceremony marking the start of demolition—the first for an urban complex development project in the Seoul region—was held at the Banghak Station district site. The district is moving ahead faster than any other urban complex development project led by LH, with construction of the actual housing project targeted to begin in the first half of next year.
The urban public housing complex project is a model in which public agencies such as LH directly carry out development in aging urban areas that are difficult to redevelop through private-sector initiatives. The project aims to supply housing in urban areas by improving feasibility through floor-area-ratio incentives and streamlining permitting procedures.
The Banghak Station and Ssangmun Station East districts began their projects in 2021 and completed priority housing allocations for original residents last year. With compensation procedures completed in both districts, residents will relocate and demolition will proceed in parallel by the end of the year. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027.
It took approximately five years for the Banghak Station district to progress from its announcement as a candidate site to demolition. LH explained that the project is moving more than eight years faster than private reconstruction and redevelopment projects in Seoul, which take an average of 14 years and six months from candidate-site selection to groundbreaking.
LH is pursuing six urban complex districts in Seoul: Banghak Station, Ssangmun Station East, Yeonsinnae Station, two areas on the west side of Ssangmun Station, Singil 2 District, and Jeungsan 4 District. The total planned supply is 7,755 homes.
Compensation schedules have also been set for the subsequent districts. Yeonsinnae Station and the two Ssangmun Station West districts will begin signing compensation agreements in October, while Singil 2 District and Jeungsan 4 District will begin in November. LH plans to move forward with the projects with the goal of breaking ground in 2028 at all four districts.
LH will also reinforce its workforce to improve the execution of the redevelopment projects. It will assign 244 dedicated personnel to the Metropolitan Area Urban Renewal Special Headquarters and deploy additional support staff as project progress requires.
The personnel will include experienced employees from the headquarters and non-metropolitan areas, new hires who joined during the first half of this year, and professional and experienced fixed-term staff. LH will concentrate personnel on stages prone to delays, including permitting and approvals, compensation, relocation, and demolition. They will support compensation procedures in the four districts currently under development, as well as the construction-start procedures for Banghak Station and Ssangmun Station East.
Lee Seong-hoon, president of LH, said, "As urban complex projects in the Seoul region are set to break ground one after another starting in the first half of next year, we expect them to lead to tangible housing supply benefits for the public. Starting with the Banghak Station district, we will closely monitor conditions in each district and bring forward the schedule for every stage as much as possible so that construction can begin successively."
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter