Underground cabling required in redevelopment and reconstruction zones earns a floor area ratio incentive of up to 5 percentage points; project improves pedestrian safety, urban aesthetics and disaster resilience
Yeongdeungpo-gu said it successfully lobbied the Seoul Metropolitan Government to revise its regulations, allowing developers pursuing residential redevelopment and reconstruction projects to receive floor area ratio (FAR) incentives for undergrounding power lines — a change that took effect in April.
Previously, Seoul granted FAR incentives for underground cabling only in "urban renewal-type" redevelopment projects concentrated in commercial and business districts. Residential redevelopment and reconstruction projects — more directly tied to residents' daily lives and typically larger in scale — were excluded, and concerns about inequity between project types had consistently been raised.
Yeongdeungpo-gu formally proposed that Seoul extend FAR incentives to residential projects on the condition that power lines within the designated zone be placed underground. The proposal was ultimately incorporated into the "2030 Seoul Metropolitan City Basic Plan for Urban and Residential Environment Improvement."
Under the revised regime, residential redevelopment and reconstruction projects can now receive a FAR bonus of up to 5 percentage points for undergrounding power lines, laying the groundwork to encourage widespread adoption of underground cabling across apartment redevelopment projects.
The district said underground cabling delivers strong public value — improving pedestrian safety, enhancing the urban streetscape and strengthening disaster resilience. It said offering FAR incentives is a practical support mechanism that secures public benefit without passing project costs on to private developers.
Going forward, Yeongdeungpo-gu plans to actively review the need for underground cabling when drawing up redevelopment and reconstruction improvement plans within the district, and to work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to ensure swift on-site implementation.
"Undergrounding power lines in tandem with redevelopment and reconstruction projects is essential to delivering residential environment improvements that residents can actually feel," Yeongdeungpo-gu District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon said. "I hope this project will create safer and more pleasant street environments."
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