[Exclusive] Room to adjust 620 rental units planned for former Seongdong Detention Center site...Supply ratio under review amid residents’ opposition

[Financial News] The Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH are continuing to review the ratio of public-sale to rental housing on the former Seongdong Detention Center site in Songpa District. The review follows a series of complaints from residents over a plan to increase public rental housing to 620 units. While there is room to adjust the supply ratio to some extent, the authorities say it would be difficult to return to the original plan centered on public-sale housing.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, SH and others on the 27th, the two sides are again reviewing the public-sale and rental mix for the 1,240 public housing units planned for the former Seongdong Detention Center site. A plan to supply 620 of each has been proposed, but with residents demanding that the rental supply be restored to the original 100 units, the possibility of some adjustment remains open. The scale of any adjustment has not been determined.
■ Renewed resident opposition as rental units rise from 100 to 620
The project site is the former Seongdong Detention Center grounds around 162 Garak-dong, Songpa District. The project is under way to build 1,240 public housing units on 47,440 square meters of residential land within a total area of about 78,758 square meters.
Seoul initially planned to supply 1,150 units, including 1,050 public-sale homes and 100 public-rental homes. However, reflecting a 2024 policy to expand Mirinae House, a long-term rental housing program for newlyweds, a plan was proposed to increase the total supply to 1,240 units and provide 620 each of public-sale and public-rental housing. The share of public rentals rose sharply.
In January 2025, the Seoul Metropolitan Government changed the designated use of land for the Newlywed Hope Town to a multi-family housing site. Approval was also granted in September of the same year for an amended housing construction project plan.
Residents, however, believe the revised supply plan has not yet been finalized. They argue that although the policy to expand public rental housing was announced in 2024, the public-sale and rental allocations were not clearly specified in an official notice, so the plan could still be returned to its original form.
Residents say they lived near the detention center for about 40 years and put up with the inconveniences, and that development should now proceed as originally promised, centered on public-sale housing. Some residents are also concerned that expanding rental housing could change the residential environment and lower home prices.
An SH official said, “It is true that the notice has not yet specified the ratio of rental to public-sale units,” adding, “Discussions about the ratio are continuing, but it is difficult to say for certain how it will be adjusted.”
A Seoul Metropolitan Government official said the city was considering some adjustments to the ratio in light of residents’ complaints and other factors, but made clear that “it would be difficult to return to the levels in the original plan.”
■ Dispute over project costs adds to opposition to senior residence plans
Development of sites for uses other than housing is also controversial. Plans for the former Seongdong Detention Center site include office, cultural and sports facilities, and a resident communication hub. Residents are opposing plans for a senior residence on about 4,683 square meters of land designated for office facilities.
The site was acquired at auction by Bastion Asset Management for 83.5 billion won in June. After plans to develop a senior residence became public, residents opposed them, saying the project could undermine the office function originally planned for the site. Songpa District also conveyed its opposition to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH in July.
A separate dispute over project costs has emerged around construction of the resident communication hub. SH is calling for the public contribution amount to be recalculated based on the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s plan to improve floor-area-ratio incentives for the donation of public facilities, announced in April last year (Regulatory Reform Measure No. 105). The plan expands the range of costs recognized for installing public facilities to include design and supervision costs.
Songpa District says further review is needed on whether the revised criteria can be applied to the existing agreement. The installation costs for facilities to be donated to the public under the existing project were set at 25.2 billion won.
A Songpa District official said, “An increase in costs related to constructing facilities to be donated to the public is possible only if supporting materials, such as an official notice from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, are prepared, but none are available yet,” adding, “We plan to conclude discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government within the year and begin design work next year.”
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter