Seoul City Criticizes Move to Transfer Redevelopment Approval Authority to District Heads as Ineffective

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has stated that the plan by the government and ruling party to transfer the authority for redevelopment and reconstruction projects of 500 households or fewer to autonomous districts is an ineffective measure.

In an official statement released this afternoon (August 24), the Seoul Metropolitan Government cited an announcement made by the Democratic Party of Korea following a high-level party-government consultation meeting yesterday, criticizing the plan by stating, "It is merely a slogan that shows a lack of understanding of Seoul's urban renewal sites."

During a briefing yesterday, the Democratic Party announced that it will push for legislation in the National Assembly to transfer the approval authority for redevelopment and reconstruction projects of 500 households or fewer to heads of local autonomous districts in order to accelerate housing supply.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government argued, "Considering the scale of urban renewal projects currently underway in Seoul and the actual approval procedures, transferring the authority for projects of 500 households or fewer to autonomous districts will not dramatically increase housing supply or shorten project timelines."

The city further expressed concern, saying, "Seoul itself is a single, organic mega-living sphere. If district designation authority is transferred to autonomous districts, consistency with Seoul's higher-level plans will be compromised, and standards will vary depending on individual renewal projects across districts, significantly undermining the reliability of urban management policies."

"If decisions are made on an individual district level like this, city-wide urban planning will collapse, ultimately resulting in haphazard development, and the damage will fall squarely on citizens," the city said.

The city also asserted, "If the public contribution ratios and land-use criteria differ among autonomous districts, the likelihood of preferential treatment controversies and real estate speculation issues arising will be very high."

It added, "Autonomous districts are prone to being swayed by the profitability demands of individual unions or resident conflicts over pros and cons rather than balanced development across all of Seoul, which will induce over-development and project delays, and long-term degradation of the quality of the residential environment."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that out of the nine total approval authorities for urban renewal projects, seven—including union establishment, project implementation, and management disposition—are already vested in autonomous districts, while only two authorities—deliberations for district designation and integrated deliberations for project implementation—belong to Seoul City. It added that Seoul City's processing time accounts for a mere 2.7 percent of the entire approval period.

Urging the government and ruling party to completely reconsider the policy, the city stated, "Accelerating project speed is not a superficial matter like authority transfer, but rather a matter of government regulations that actually block projects in the field, such as restrictions on relocation loans and limits on the transfer of union member status."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.