"A Areas Must Be Canceled No Matter What"... Past Seoul Redevelopment District Cancellations Were Unlawful, Inadequate (Comprehensive)

On the 16th, Second Vice Mayor Kim Seongbo and the Housing Office
Reveal past project to cancel redevelopment districts
More than 85% ignored residents' wishes
Or were pushed through using illegal or inadequate procedures

It has emerged that the Seoul Metropolitan Government carried out a project called the “ABC Measures” to cancel redevelopment districts during the tenure of former Mayor Park Won-soon. More than eight out of the 10 redevelopment districts canceled under the measures were pushed through despite residents’ wishes being ignored or through illegal or inadequate procedures.

Myung Nojun, acting head of Seoul's Housing Office, gives a briefing on the housing supply white paper at Seoul City Hall on the 16th. Yonhap News Agency.

Kim Seongbo, Seoul’s Second Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, said on the 16th, “There are facts that have not appeared in media reports until now. At the time, there was an internal project called the ‘ABC Measures,’” adding, “The areas in the New Town districts were divided into A, B and C categories for management.”

According to Kim, A areas were to be canceled, B areas were to be considered for cancellation or retention, and C areas were to continue with their projects.

“Mayor Oh Se-hoon strongly criticized the measures, and the city began easing redevelopment regulations afterward,” Kim said. “Recently, scattered accounts that are entirely at odds with the facts have emerged. Feeling the need to establish the facts accurately, we began work last year on a white paper that proves them with figures and statistics.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that about 85% of the 389 redevelopment districts canceled between 2012 and 2020 were canceled without properly reflecting residents’ wishes or through inadequate procedures.

As preservation-focused urban regeneration policies took hold in the 2010s, 389 of Seoul’s 683 redevelopment districts were canceled.

Of these, 66 districts (17%) were canceled at the city’s discretion, including through ordinance amendments, without surveying residents’ opinions. The administrative authorities unilaterally canceled seven districts in the Changsin-Sungin Redevelopment Promotion District, citing low project feasibility, and Sajik 2 District, citing the need to preserve its historical and cultural value. The Supreme Court ruled that discretionary cancellation on the grounds of preserving historical and cultural value was “unlawful,” but the ordinance that served as its basis was deleted.

In 264 districts (68%), residents’ opinions were surveyed, including in response to residents’ requests, but procedures were inadequate. In Jangwi 15 District, notices were not mailed to absentee residents without first verifying their correct addresses or contact information, and the cases were instead handled through service by publication. In Singil 1 District, the cancellation was pushed through despite a voter turnout of just 12%.

A total of 59 districts (15%) were canceled under the sunset clause. In several cases, districts were mechanically canceled at the city’s discretion even though residents wanted to proceed with redevelopment and had requested an extension of the sunset deadline.

This led to a decline in housing units starting construction. The annual average number of units starting construction under redevelopment projects fell from 29,000 in 2016-2020 to 15,000 in 2021-2025.

Based on its analysis for the white paper, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to correct past administrative errors, uphold procedural legitimacy when designating and canceling redevelopment districts, and maintain a stable foundation for housing supply.

To meet its target of supplying 310,000 housing units by 2031, the city plans to address delays at each project stage and closely manage projects through the start and completion of construction.

Myung Nojun, acting head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Housing Office, said, “Under the Park Won-soon administration, the city focused solely on preservation without carrying out any redevelopment as part of its urban regeneration projects. With no new districts designated from 2016 to 2020, the bar was high.” He added, “Continuity is the most important thing in housing policy, and citizens are bearing the cost of the decade-long break in policy now, in the present.”

“The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s strategy now is to ensure a steady supply of housing through private-sector redevelopment projects,” he said. “We will also continue to supply housing tailored to each stage of life, as well as non-apartment housing.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.