District mayor makes reconstruction approval his first official act

Complex to rise to 65 stories, 6,411 units after two-decade push

Asking prices hit 4.5 billion won on reconstruction hopes

Songpa-gu redevelopment race accelerates across neighboring complexes

Jamsil Jugong 5 apartment complex [Naver Street View]
Jamsil Jugong 5 apartment complex [Naver Street View]

Jamsil Jugong 5, one of Seoul's most closely watched apartment complexes, has received official approval to proceed with reconstruction — a milestone roughly 20 years in the making that is expected to accelerate urban renewal projects across Songpa-gu.

Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok made the approval of the Jamsil Jugong 5 reconstruction implementation plan his first official act after taking office for a new term, the district announced Tuesday. Under the approved plan, the complex will be transformed from its current 15-story, 30-building, 3,930-unit configuration into a development reaching up to 65 stories, with 32 buildings and 6,411 units.

Reconstruction discussions for Jamsil Jugong 5 first emerged in the early 2000s, but the project stalled for years due to concerns over financial viability and a series of government regulations. In the interim, the neighboring complexes — Jugong 1, 2, 3 and 4 — completed their own reconstructions, becoming the Elysian, Ricenz, Trizium and Lake Palace developments. After 2020, the project was revived through revised redevelopment plans, and momentum picked up again when Samsung C&T was selected as the main contractor.

Having cleared what the industry calls the "80 percent hurdle" of reconstruction — the implementation plan approval — observers expect the remaining steps to move quickly. The association plans to complete property appraisals and pre-sale applications in the second half of this year, and to apply for management and disposal plan approval in 2027. The association told its members Tuesday that it would "do its utmost to ensure the project proceeds smoothly, pushing ahead without delay on follow-up procedures including appraisals of existing assets, member briefings and pre-sale applications."

Apartment prices have been climbing on reconstruction expectations. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, an 82-square-meter unit at Jamsil Jugong 5 sold for 4.62 billion won ($2.99 million) in December last year, setting a record high — up 1 billion won from a year earlier.

No new record transactions have been recorded this year amid continued government restrictions, but deals have been closing steadily in the low 4 billion won range since the start of the year. As of June 16, a lower-floor unit changed hands at 4.33 billion won, while current asking prices range from 4.4 billion to 4.5 billion won.

Industry insiders expect Jamsil Jugong 5 to emerge as the flagship complex in Songpa-gu once it is reborn as a large-scale new development. The scarcity premium on large newly built apartment complexes is growing as Seoul's housing market faces a severe supply shortage, they say.

The approval is also expected to give momentum to reconstruction efforts at neighboring complexes. Jamsil Woosung 1, 2 and 3, Jangmi 1, 2 and 3, and the so-called "Olympic trio" — Olympic Family Town, Olympic Athletes' Village and Asia Athletes' Village — have all entered the reconstruction race, setting the stage for a sweeping transformation of the residential landscape across Songpa-gu.

"Each association is taking it as a symbolic signal that a reconstruction-related measure was chosen as the district mayor's first official act," one industry official said. "Other associations will move quickly to prepare their own follow-up procedures in step with this."

District Mayor Seo, who won re-election, made the swift pursuit of reconstruction and redevelopment a central campaign pledge for his new term. To focus administrative resources on shortening review and permitting timelines, he has formed a dedicated task force for accelerating reconstruction and redevelopment, and plans to hold regular district-wide consultations and association progress meetings.


lucky@heraldcorp.com