Seoul Deputy Mayor for Administration Kim Sung-bo tours the Hannam District 3 redevelopment site Tuesday morning during the city's second Special Progress Acceleration Meeting. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Seoul Deputy Mayor for Administration Kim Sung-bo tours the Hannam District 3 redevelopment site Tuesday morning during the city's second Special Progress Acceleration Meeting. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has moved to tighten on-site management of redevelopment projects scheduled to break ground in the second half of this year, as it pushes to meet its annual target of 30,000 new housing units. With 15,000 units — half the target — already under construction, the city said it will closely monitor permitting, resident relocation and demolition procedures at each site to ensure the remaining 15,000 units also break ground before year's end.

The city held its second Special Progress Acceleration Meeting at the Hannam District 3 site in Yongsan-gu on Tuesday morning, chaired by Deputy Mayor for Administration Kim Sung-bo, and announced the results Wednesday. The meeting reviewed progress at 11 redevelopment sites across eight districts slated for ground-breaking in the second half of this year.

Kim visited the Hannam District 3 site, which is approaching large-scale demolition and ground-breaking, to assess conditions on the ground. He then met with progress-acceleration officers from the eight districts where the sites are located to review project timelines and identify potential delays.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government aims to break ground on 310,000 housing units through redevelopment projects by 2031. Last month, it elevated its progress-management framework to the deputy mayor level, designating Kim as overall progress-acceleration officer. In that role, he is responsible for identifying permitting delays, resident disputes, and relocation and demolition setbacks in advance, and working with individual districts to develop remediation plans.

At the first Special Progress Acceleration Meeting held last month, all 25 districts participated in a comprehensive review of 85 key supply strategy projects targeting 85,000 units for ground-breaking by 2028. The second meeting, held Tuesday, followed up on that review with a focused look at the 11 sites due to break ground in the second half of this year.

Of the 30,000-unit ground-breaking target for this year, 15,000 units have already begun construction, putting the city at 50 percent of its goal. The city said it will closely manage key procedures — including permitting, relocation and demolition — at each remaining site to keep the other 15,000 units on schedule.

Because many of the major permitting steps in redevelopment projects are handled at the district level, the city also plans to strengthen coordination between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and individual districts. It will provide support to prevent delays in project implementation plan approvals, management and disposal plan approvals, and subsequent demolition and construction steps. For sites where delays are identified as likely, the city will convene additional joint city-district progress acceleration meetings.

For obstacles arising on the ground — such as resident disputes or negotiations with related agencies — the relevant Seoul city departments will step in directly to resolve them.

The city is paying particular attention to Hannam District 3, which accounts for a large share of the second-half ground-breaking volume. Kim confirmed demolition and ground-breaking preparations at the site from the rooftop of the Bogwang-dong community center Tuesday before holding a progress review meeting with district officials.

Hannam District 3 is one of the largest redevelopment projects in Seoul set to break ground this year. Located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, the complex will carry Hyundai E&C's high-end brand under the name "The H Hannam," with a total of 5,816 units planned.

The city is also separately managing the 85 key supply strategy projects targeting 85,000 units for ground-breaking by 2028 through dedicated on-site progress meetings.

"Housing supply cannot stop at announcing plans — it must translate into actual ground-breaking that residents can see and feel," Kim said. "Seoul, the districts and the associations will move as one team to swiftly clear obstacles on the ground." He added that the city would "complete this year's 30,000-unit ground-breaking target without a hitch — the first step toward 310,000 units by 2031 — and take responsibility for every single site through to the end to accelerate Seoul's housing supply."


quq@heraldcorp.com