Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi [Herald DB]
Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi [Herald DB]

Gangnam-gu announced Friday it will introduce and enforce the "Gangnam-type public-support redevelopment project architect selection operating standards," a set of supplementary guidelines tailored to on-site conditions that build on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's existing architect selection criteria.

Under the current framework, architect selection for redevelopment projects follows the Seoul Metropolitan Government's public-support redevelopment architect selection standards, which require design proposals to stay within the scope of the approved redevelopment plan and restrict distorted proposals or individual promotional activities. In practice, however, some firms had been presenting designs that could only be realized by amending the existing plan — while emphasizing outcomes such as increased unit counts without adequately explaining the procedures, timelines, or costs such amendments would require. When such proposals are adopted, projects must go through a plan-amendment process all over again, causing schedule delays. Gangnam-gu has now strengthened its pre-screening procedures so association members can weigh feasibility, additional financial burdens, and the risk of delays before casting a vote.

Under the new rules, design firms must submit a self-checklist and a written pledge confirming that their proposals comply with permitting guidelines and review standards. The district will also provide associations with standardized bid announcement templates and design competition guidelines, enabling advance review of proposals and reducing the inconsistent application of criteria across firms.

The timing of votes will also be reformed. At some project sites, written ballot submissions had been accepted before the first joint promotional briefing — the session at which competing firms present their proposals side by side. A district review found that early voting by written or electronic means accounted for 88.6 percent of all votes cast. Going forward, written ballot submissions and electronic voting may not begin until at least three days after the first joint promotional briefing concludes.

The new standards will apply to redevelopment projects that issue their first bid announcement after the guidelines take effect. Sites where bidding is already underway will be guided toward compliance through administrative instruction. The district plans to notify promotion committees, associations, and redevelopment project management firms of the standards, and will publish them on the district website and the redevelopment project information portal. Compliance will also be verified during advance reviews of architect selection plans and bid announcements.

"We will carefully verify feasibility from the architect selection stage onward to eliminate unnecessary causes of project delay," District Mayor Kim Hyun-gi said. "We will strengthen our public-support role so that association members can choose architects fairly and on the basis of sufficient information, and so that redevelopment projects can move forward without delay."

Kim also made a reconstruction and redevelopment acceleration plan — dubbed the "Gangnam Reconstruction Acceleration Project" — his first official approval on July 1, his first day in office. The move reflected his determination to make stalled redevelopment projects, held back by administrative delays and community disputes, his top priority. Through the initiative, the district aims to cut permitting timelines by more than 30 percent, intensively manage delayed project sites, and shorten overall project durations by more than two years — with a goal of supplying about 27,000 housing units within the current mayoral term. Gangnam-gu currently has 103 redevelopment and improvement projects underway, including 53 reconstruction projects as well as remodeling and redevelopment schemes.


cook@heraldcorp.com