Jongno-gu: "Consent Collection for Changsin Districts 9 and 10 Was Illegal... Collect the Forms Again"

District concludes Urban Improvement Act violation after reviewing complaint
Promises of benefits and pressure over possible liquidation confirmed
Preemptive action amid fears that ignoring violations could lead to lawsuits worth tens of billions of won

Seoul’s Jongno-gu (headed by Yoo Chanjong) said it found illegal conduct in the process of collecting consent forms to designate a trust company as the project implementer for the Changsin Districts 9 and 10 redevelopment projects, and plans to require the forms to be collected again from the beginning. The district said it would reject the designation application if the committee does not comply.

Jongno District Office. Provided by the district office.

Jongno-gu said on October 23 that, following a legal review of a report by an emergency committee of residents opposed to the redevelopment, it had reached the final conclusion that the collection of consent forms by the (tentative) Project Promotion Committee violated Article 132 of the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments (Urban Improvement Act). The article prohibits providing money or other benefits, as well as promising to provide them.

According to the district, the committee promised to provide goods worth 40 million won, including built-in appliances, balcony extensions, and system air conditioners, while seeking to secure consent from 75% of landowners and other rights holders. The district also said it had confirmed that the committee infringed on residents’ right to make voluntary decisions by telling them, for example, that “if you do not consent, you may be subject to liquidation in the future.”

The district says it cannot accept a designation application based on consent forms collected unlawfully. If the committee fails to follow the district’s administrative guidance or proceeds with an application without addressing the legal violations, the district plans to take action in accordance with the law, including rejecting the application immediately.

The district has worked with the project’s proponents to prepare measures for tenants, prevent the displacement of original residents, small-share owners, and older residents unable to afford their contributions, and conclude an agreement to verify construction costs at each stage. However, it determined that proceeding with the project while leaving the illegal conduct in the collection of consent forms unaddressed could lead to more serious legal disputes and harm to residents.

The district cited the risk of delays to the project as its rationale. It said that if the emergency committee files a lawsuit to confirm the consent forms are invalid or to revoke the designation after substantial funds have been invested in design, relocation, and construction following the trust company’s appointment, the project could be stalled for at least two to three years. In that case, financing interest and delay-related losses amounting to tens of billions of won would ultimately be passed on to residents as additional contributions. The district believes that eliminating legal risks by collecting the consent forms again, a process expected to take about two to three months, would instead benefit the project’s pace and protect residents’ property rights.

An official from Jongno-gu’s Redevelopment and Reconstruction Task Force said, “Turning a blind eye to unlawful collection that lacks legal legitimacy and moving ahead is like leaving residents with a time bomb in the form of a lawsuit worth tens of billions of won. The only way to secure both speed and practical benefits is to ensure legal certainty by collecting valid consent forms again, a process that will take just over two months.”

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