Seoul Energy Corporation Signs 'Zero-Energy Apartment' Pact with Yeoksam District Private Urban Complex Development Preparatory Committee

Linking solar power with geothermal heating and cooling for 1,700 households
Seeking to achieve a ZEB rating

As energy performance standards for apartment complexes are tightened, a private redevelopment project is partnering with a public agency to introduce renewable energy.

Choi Seongwoo, head of the Renewable Energy Division at Seoul Energy Corporation (fifth from left), and Jeong Taeyong, chair of the preparatory committee (sixth from left), pose for a commemorative photo at a signing ceremony for an agreement to expand the adoption of zero-energy buildings in apartment complexes. Photo provided by Seoul Energy Corporation.

Seoul Energy Corporation, headed by President Hwang Bo-yeon, said on October 21 that it had signed an agreement with the preparatory committee of the Teheran-ro Yeoksam District Residents' Council, which is pursuing a private urban complex development project in the Yeoksam District area of Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The agreement aims to expand the adoption of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) in apartment complexes.

Since June 2025, the government has applied energy performance standards equivalent to ZEB Grade 5 to privately built apartment complexes with 30 or more households. Meeting the standards, including through the use of renewable energy, has thus become a challenge for project development.

The Yeoksam District project has signed an agreement with geothermal energy specialist G&G Technology and is pursuing plans to install geothermal heating and cooling systems across the complex, which will have about 1,700 households. From the design stage, the corporation plans to provide energy consulting and propose an energy mix tailored to the complex's characteristics and economic viability, including using geothermal energy for heating and cooling and solar panels on rooftops and exterior walls to generate electricity. ZEB certification can qualify a project for a relaxation of building standards of up to 11% under Grade 5 criteria and a 15% reduction in acquisition tax.

In May, the corporation signed an agreement with the Seoul Mokdong 2 LH-Participating Block-Unit Housing Improvement Project Association in Yangcheon-gu, setting a goal of achieving ZEB Grade 4 by combining district heating, geothermal energy and solar power. This agreement is a public-private partnership model that brings the corporation's expertise to a complex where residents are leading efforts to introduce geothermal energy. The corporation plans to develop the approach into an energy mix model suitable for high-rise, high-density apartment complexes in urban areas.

Choi Seongwoo, head of the corporation's Renewable Energy Division, said, "We will assess renewable energy options that take into account the project conditions and energy demand in the Yeoksam District, and identify energy mix models suited to urban apartment complexes."

Jeong Taeyong, chair of the Teheran-ro Yeoksam District Residents' Council Preparatory Committee, said, "With the protection of residents' property rights as our top priority, we will do our utmost to ease maintenance fee burdens, improve living conditions and increase property values."

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