Redevelopment in Seoul’s Seun District picks up pace: FAR raised, 12 areas converted into promotion zones

[Financial News] Development regulations, including those on floor-area and building coverage ratios, will be eased to revitalize redevelopment projects in Seoul’s Seun Urban Renewal Promotion District. The city will expand housing supply by lowering the mandatory share of non-residential facilities and pursue redevelopment in 12 areas where projects have been stalled for a long time.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 29th, a public inspection of the proposed amendment to the urban renewal promotion plan for the Seun Urban Renewal Promotion District will be held from that day through the 12th of next month.
The proposed amendment includes converting retained maintenance zones into urban renewal promotion zones, dividing some zones, and adjusting the conditions for upzoning. It will improve the conditions for carrying out projects by incorporating the “2030 Basic Plan for Urban and Residential Environment Improvement.”
In line with the 2030 Basic Plan for Urban and Residential Environment Improvement, the conditions for upgrading areas to central commercial zoning will be revised to expand housing supply in the city center and improve conditions for introducing neighborhood amenities.
First, the conditions for upgrading zoning from general commercial to central commercial will be eased. The minimum share of non-residential uses, such as office and commercial uses, will be lowered from 50% to 20%.
The standards for incentives related to floor-area and building coverage ratios, as well as the introduction of diverse housing types, will also be revised to reflect the changes to the basic plan. The allowable floor-area ratio in general commercial areas will rise from 800% to 880%, an increase of 80 percentage points. This represents a 10% increase over the existing allowable floor-area ratio. The building coverage ratio ceiling will also be raised from 50% to 60%, a 10-percentage-point relaxation.
In addition, 12 retained maintenance zones in the Seun District will be converted into urban renewal promotion zones. Zone 5-5, where a separate promotion project process is underway, has been excluded from this conversion. Zones 6-1-5 and 6-2-2 will each be divided into two zones, taking project implementation conditions into account.
The approach to creating parks in the Seun Arcade Complex will also be revised. The plan to secure replacement parkland if private redevelopment projects went ahead, which was included in the existing plan, was deemed unlikely to be feasible and will be removed. Instead, park creation will be pursued through existing urban planning facility projects and an integrated redevelopment approach for the Seun Arcade Complex.
The city plans to carefully review opinions submitted by residents and interested parties during the public inspection period and actively incorporate them into the plan.
Kim Chang-gyu, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Space Headquarters, said, “This amendment focuses on improving conditions for carrying out projects in areas where redevelopment has been delayed for a long time, and on increasing the supply of housing and neighborhood amenities in the city center.” He added, “We will do our utmost to ensure redevelopment projects in the Seun District proceed without disruption while fully gathering residents’ opinions.”

[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter