Seoul Metropolitan Government has outlined a plan to achieve a net increase of approximately 87,000 housing units through redevelopment projects by 2031. On the 11th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited redevelopment project sites in Yongsan-gu’s Seogye-dong and Cheongpa-dong, stating, “In Seoul, where available land is scarce, redevelopment is virtually the only large-scale supply solution,” and urged the central government to ease regulations.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, seven private redevelopment projects, including rapid integrated planning redevelopment and Moa Town initiatives, are currently underway in the Seogye-dong and Cheongpa-dong areas. Excluding the Cheongpa 3 District, where the number of units has yet to be finalized, the planned total for the six other sites is 8,088 units—an increase of 1,695 units (26.5%) compared to the 6,393 existing housing units before the projects began. For the Moa Town at 116 Seogye-dong, the zoning is being upgraded from Class 3 General Residential to Semi-Residential, with plans to expand the existing 172 units to 499 units.
Seogye-dong and Cheongpa-dong are low-rise residential areas that formed near Seoul Station during the industrialization of the 1960s. After redevelopment projects were scrapped following the 2012 “New Town Exit Strategy,” the area was left with steep hills, narrow alleys, and deteriorating housing. Mayor Oh remarked, “We cannot leave residents waiting any longer in aging neighborhoods where even fire trucks struggle to enter.”
To demonstrate the tangible housing supply effects of redevelopment, Seoul conducted a comprehensive survey of 59 redevelopment projects completed over the past three years. The results showed an increase of approximately 20,000 housing units (36.4%) compared to pre-project levels. By type, reconstruction projects added roughly 13,000 units (44.2%), while redevelopment projects added about 7,000 units (27.4%).
Seoul plans to break ground on a total of 310,000 units across 253 redevelopment zones by 2031, with an estimated net increase of approximately 87,000 units (39.2%) even after accounting for demolished existing housing. The plan also includes securing 48,000 rental housing units.
Appearing on KBS1’s “Sasageongeon” the previous day, Mayor Oh stated, “If the government supports the redevelopment and reconstruction projects that Seoul is actively pursuing, it will help stabilize the real estate market,” adding, “I urge the government to shift its financial and tax policies.” He strongly refuted criticism that redevelopment projects do not actually increase housing numbers, citing that “over the past three years, reconstruction projects in Seoul have increased the number of units by an average of 44%, and redevelopment by 27% compared to existing housing.”
Seoul has proposed five institutional improvements to the government: ▷ adjusting the mandatory rental housing ratio for redevelopment; ▷ expanding the floor area ratio for private redevelopment projects to 1.2 times the legal limit; ▷ temporarily suspending restrictions on the transfer of union member status for three years; ▷ normalizing the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for relocation loans to the 70% level; and ▷ easing the consent requirement for establishing redevelopment associations from 75% to 70%.
Regarding the adjustment of mandatory rental housing ratios, the proposal involves lowering the current requirement—where 50-75% of additional units gained through bonus floor area ratios in redevelopment projects must be allocated as rental housing—to 30-50%, matching the level for reconstruction projects. According to Seoul’s simulations, in a project zone with a base floor area ratio of 250% and a legal maximum of 300%, even if the rental housing ratio is reduced from 50% to 40%, granting an additional 4.16 percentage points of floor area ratio would secure the same level of rental housing. The aim is to improve project feasibility by lowering the rental ratio while increasing overall supply through additional floor area ratio allowances.
The supply effect would be even greater if the floor area ratio for private redevelopment projects is raised to 1.2 times the legal limit. If the legal maximum floor area ratio is 300%, raising it to a maximum of 360% would mean that of the additional 110 percentage points secured beyond the base ratio (250%), 66 percentage points would be allocated to for-sale housing and 44 percentage points to rental housing. Compared to the current system, where each receives 25 percentage points, this structure increases both general sales inventory and rental housing supply.
Seoul also raised concerns about equity with public redevelopment projects. While the government is pursuing measures to allow up to 1.3 times the legal maximum floor area ratio for public redevelopment and reconstruction, no such exceptions exist for private redevelopment and reconstruction, which account for the majority of redevelopment projects in Seoul. Seoul’s position is that allowing up to 1.2 times the legal limit for private projects as well would enhance the supply expansion effect.
Regarding concerns about instability in the rental market due to redevelopment-related relocation, Mayor Oh acknowledged the worries while reaffirming his commitment to pushing projects forward. “Relocation can stimulate the jeonse and monthly rent markets,” he said, “because hundreds or thousands of households move out and buildings are demolished simultaneously.” Nevertheless, he stressed, “If we avoid redevelopment and reconstruction out of fear of side effects, securing a net increase in supply becomes impossible. These are inevitable side effects we must go through, but we cannot halt projects because we are afraid of them.”
Mayor Oh added, “There must be a net increase in new supply so that people living in older apartments can move into new ones. As others move into those vacated spaces, the housing supply ecosystem can enter a virtuous cycle.” He also argued that complementary measures should be implemented to ensure that policies centered on owner-occupancy do not lead to a reduction in rental supply.
To accelerate redevelopment projects, Seoul plans to expand the use of standard processing deadlines, integrated review, and phased parallel processing, while also strengthening project-specific progress management. To prevent redevelopment-related relocations from clustering at specific times, the city will monitor relocation schedules at individual project sites alongside surrounding rental market conditions. It also plans to proactively manage relocation demand by considering housing supply conditions in non-apartment sectors and adjacent living areas.