The Seoul Metropolitan Government will designate areas selected as candidates for its fast-track integrated planning and Moa Town programs as land transaction permit zones simultaneously with their selection, in a bid to curb speculative trading. Forty-seven existing public redevelopment and fast-track integrated planning housing redevelopment and reconstruction project sites will also be redesignated, with permit zone boundaries adjusted to match project boundaries at 12 of those sites.
Seoul announced Thursday that its 12th Urban Planning Committee, which met Wednesday, approved a new designation plan linking the candidate selection process for fast-track integrated planning and Moa Town projects with the land transaction permit zone designation process.
The new designations cover areas that the fast-track integrated planning candidate selection committee finalizes the day before each announcement, as well as two Moa Town sites selected on July 16. Areas ultimately chosen from among five sites under expert advisory review for Moa Town on Aug. 20 will also be placed under land transaction permit zone restrictions.
Areas selected under the fast-track integrated planning program will have their entire project zones designated as land transaction permit zones, effective Aug. 11 through Aug. 30 next year. For Moa Town-selected areas, the designation applies not to the entire project zone but only to land classified as "roads" within it — a measure aimed at preventing so-called private road share trading, in which ownership stakes in privately held alleyways are repeatedly subdivided and sold.
Accordingly, areas around 207-1 Seokgwan-dong, Seongbuk-gu and 495 Amsa-dong, Gangdong-gu will be designated as land transaction permit zones for five years, from Aug. 11 through Aug. 10, 2031. Areas selected from among the Aug. 20 advisory review sites will be designated from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2031.
Seoul also redesignated 47 public redevelopment and fast-track integrated planning housing redevelopment and reconstruction project sites whose designation periods were expiring, extending coverage through Aug. 30 next year.
Of those, 39 sites retain their existing project zone boundaries. However, seven sites — including two public redevelopment projects and five fast-track integrated planning redevelopment projects — will have their permit zone boundaries adjusted to reflect updated project zones. One fast-track integrated planning redevelopment site had its existing area figure corrected.
Permit zone boundaries at 12 sites — comprising seven existing Moa Town projects and five fast-track integrated planning redevelopment projects — will be adjusted to align with finalized project zone boundaries. The permitted area and designation period remain unchanged.
One Moa Town site around 681 Jayang 2-dong, Gwangjin-gu, where the project was withdrawn, will be removed from the land transaction permit zone designation starting Aug. 6.
![Map of the Ojang-dong urban renewal redevelopment project [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/30/news-p.v1.20260730.45d13b3991f74c4084982471678fde02_P1.png)
The committee also approved, with modifications, a proposal to designate a renewal zone and determine a renewal plan along with a landscape review for the Ojang-dong urban renewal redevelopment project. The area will be redeveloped into a high-density mixed-use zone combining industrial and residential uses.
The renewal plan aims to preserve the area's existing urban industrial base — anchored by Jungbu Market, the country's largest dried-seafood market, and the surrounding printing industry — while also attracting new and specialized industries.
The area is a transit-oriented area near Euljiro 4-ga Station on subway lines 2 and 5. The renewal plan covers zone-specific redevelopment methods, infrastructure plans for roads and parks, and building density guidelines including lot coverage and floor area ratios. To strengthen the city center's competitiveness and encourage high-density mixed-use development, Seoul set the average development scale per zone at 5,000 square meters or more. The plan also allows an additional 20-meter height relaxation for projects with a mixed-use plan covering an implementation area of 3,000 square meters or more.
Floor area ratio incentives tied to industrial use have also been established. Seoul will encourage new industries such as information and communications technology manufacturing and design, as well as specialized industries including 3D printing and digital publishing, within the zone. Developers that introduce qualifying industrial uses can receive a floor area ratio incentive of up to 100 percent, while those that draw up relocation support plans for existing industrial tenants can receive an additional incentive of up to 20 percent.
The plan also includes measures to help Jungbu Market vendors resettle. Retail facilities are designated for the below-ground floors at the market's current location, and an underground passage connecting to the Euljiro underground shopping arcade will be built to improve market access.
quq@heraldcorp.com
