![Although Seoul has the natural resource of the Han River, only matchbox apartments are filled by the riverside due to floor height restrictions. Experts ordered that Seoul should be'rebuilt' from the urban plan centered on the intended use area. [매경DB]](https://i0.wp.com/file.mk.co.kr/meet/neds/2021/01/image_readtop_2021_46321_16106218274507883.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
Although Seoul has the natural resource of the Han River, only matchbox apartments are filled by the riverside due to floor height restrictions. Experts ordered that Seoul should be’rebuilt’ from the urban plan centered on the intended use area. [매경DB]The current framework of Seoul uses the concept that emerged in the 1966 Seoul Master Plan.
However, since then, I haven’t really thought about the structure of Seoul’s urban space. During such a situation, the Gyeongbu Expressway, which is the’national aorta’, is underdeveloped and does not play its role, and the underground railway between Seoul Station and Yongsan Station, the core of Korean railroad traffic, is idling. Urban redevelopment such as Sewoon Shopping Center is also difficult.
Maeil Economic Daily recently presented various ideas for the direction of future urban planning in Seoul through the series’REbuild Seoul’. Last month, a discussion meeting was held inviting private experts. Kim Seon-geol, head of the Maeil Economic Daily Real Estate Department, Chairman Seung-Bae Kim (CEO of Fides Development), Seoul National University Professor Chang-moo Chung, and full-time vice chairman of the Korea Construction Association, Byeong-yoon Chung, discussed over two hours.
―If you evaluate Seoul’s urban planning so far.
▶Vice Chairman Jeong Byung-yoon = Based on the area of use, the appearance of Seoul is uniform as we only go through floor height regulation. I am angry as to whether the capital of the 10th largest economy in the economy is indeed correct. There is also no variety.
▶Professor Chang-Moo Chung = From the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2020, house prices in Seoul rose 181%, Gyeonggi 125%, and Incheon 123%. However, since 2016, the level of happiness in Seoul has continued to decline. Pride has also declined since 2017. In 2020, Gallup surveyed the happiness level of citizens of 186 metropolitan cities in 160 countries, and Seoul ranked 83rd. Park Won-soon, the former mayor of Seoul, has done many things, but citizens’ self-esteem has not risen, happiness has declined, and the speed of traffic has deteriorated considerably. Because we are not building roads. In the past decade, Seoul has been backward in every way.
▶CEO Seung-Bae Kim = The land should be used in a three-dimensional and complex manner. I need a three-dimensional plan, but now I am staying in a flat city plan. In particular, it is too much buried in the zoning system. For example, places like Jamsil, Seoul can be used as a commercial function, while Jamsil Jugong Complex 5 is a type 3 residential area. Although Seolleung Station is also a transit area, it is a type 2 residential area. In order to properly plan the city, the radius of the station must be 100m as a commercial site. If it is a double-triple station area, the radius should be wider. It is said that Seoul is using semi-industrial areas, but it has not been done properly for over 20 years. Even where there are no manufacturers, they remain semi-industrial areas, but they cannot reach out due to concerns about preferential fertilization and privatization of development profits. I worry about each site, not the whole city. We have to think about the future direction for the whole city.
-The 2040 Seoul Plan is expected to come out soon. How to make it.
▶Professor Jeong=Seoul’s competitiveness is what the government or Seoul city misunderstands. There is no competitiveness at all. Seoul did not lead Korea, but became a parasite. London or Tokyo are the engines leading the country’s economic growth. Seoul is at the level of sucking the blood of Gyeonggi-do. Seoul is third in the number of workers per patent. There were 56 in Daejeon, 107 in Gyeonggi and 113 in Seoul. Compared to the nation, Seoul is outstanding in finance, insurance, education service, and professional technology service. It’s old and ruined. Seoul is not a popular city, so it has to create an economy. So far, I made a plan without knowing how many corporations there are in Seoul. It is estimated at about 3 million, but it is not known how much Seoul city has been created. Do you have all these poems? Corporate inconvenience should be resolved. You should treat as much as you pay taxes. Whether it is economic development or deregulation, they are not conscious of corporations.
▶CEO Kim = We must properly establish the operating principles of urban planning. The goal of Seoul should be clear. You must have a clear, quantified goal, such as becoming a global top 3, to respond flexibly within it. As it is now, it became a chopstick rice by creating a central living area. There must be a leader who leads the city.
▶Vice-Chairman Jeong = If the vision is too abstract, it will be made. For example, you need to make contact with yourself, aiming for an 80% ratio. Specifically, enough jobs, housing, culture, and leadership in 4th industrial technology should be reflected. Specific goals must be set for each factor, such as expansion of transportation facilities.
▶Professor Jeong = There is a problem in the planning process. Can Michelangelo’s sculptures be made with 10 experts? Now, like Naver’s intellectuals, the city plans are built with collective intelligence, but I have never created a vision with collective intelligence. Listening to people’s opinions is different from setting up a vision. What makes it workable is by some genius. That is not allowed in our country. When creativity comes out like that in our society, it is immediately regarded as bullshit. For example, if a vertical city that reaches a height of 10 km is proposed, it will not be discussed at all in Korea.
―How should the 35th floor be regulated?
▶CEO Kim = Floor height regulation is nonsense. It should not be uniformly regulated.
▶Professor Jeong=If the committee regulates, the committee should bear the responsibility for proof. It’s good to decide, but it’s a scientific basis.
―What do you want from the newly elected mayor of Seoul?
▶Vice-Chairman Jeong = I would like to try a new type of housing supply. However, housing with redemption conditions is not practical. Propose a profit-sharing housing. When it is sold 10 years later, the profit is divided by half with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH). Then, will the opportunities for the general public to participate in the housing market increase?
▶Professor Jeong=Develop your skills. They come up with a development plan and immediately withdraw that the real estate market is upset. You can last for three months. Since the market is not capable, it is impossible to make a proper development plan. The second is to fight for the benefit of Seoul. Why represent the interests of others at the expense of the citizens of Seoul?
▶CEO Kim = I hope that Seoul housing policy can be understood as a land policy. It is a question of how to use the land efficiently. Seoul, the capital of 10 million people, is a big city. Seoul is the place in the northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast, and downtown areas that need customized solutions. If you look at Seoul simply, contradictions will accumulate over time.
―Can you do something like a floor area ratio trading system?
▶Representative Kim = We all agree with the necessity, but it is a problem if we cannot manage it by marking it when registering on the land. It must be clearly followed up.
▶Professor Jeong = There are too many development agents in Korea. To implement the system, one management entity must be in charge. Only then can it be registered or registered.
▶Vice Chairman Jeong = Tokyo Station has created an overwhelming landmark by trading floor area ratio. Even in the public sector, it should be possible to develop the unused floor area ratio by selling it to the private sector. It is also desirable to be implemented by the public sector first.
―What should I do to underground the Gyeongbu Line?
▶CEO Kim = There are many metropolitan roads in Seoul. There are western and eastern arterial roads, but it is a waste of resources to use only Seoul as a road, where land is scarce. You can build something complex like Japan on the road. Seoul’s land shortage can be solved in this way. Highways are the walls that clearly divide urban structures. The same goes for railroads. If you calculate it, (underground) has all the business potential. Gangnam and Gangbuk should do it at the same time.
▶Vice-Chairman Jeong = There is no problem institutionally, it is a matter of will. It is up to the private sector to decide how to develop the upper part left after underground.
―What will happen to the discussion before the National Assembly?
▶Professor Jeong = The citizens of Seoul oppose it, so it will not be possible to discuss. If you ever relocate, Yeouido should become a financial hub. You need to incorporate an exchange function, but you can create a stock exchange market based on electronic money or a third stock exchange.
▶ Representative Kim = If the National Assembly moves, it is an opportunity in Seoul. You can turn an old demonstration apartment into a commercial area and turn it into Manhattan near direct management. Seoyeouido is a dwarf, and you can put up the 100th floor in the seat of the National Assembly.
―The last word I would like to advise.
▶CEO Kim = This is Seoul’s last chance. It should become a city with global competitiveness and crowds of people from around the world. For the creative class to come, there must be a global corporate headquarters. To do that, you need to have an infrastructure. To create a global business hub in Northeast Asia, there must be housing, education, medical care, shopping, and cultural facilities suitable for it.
▶Professor Jeong = We need to decide a big direction. Sejong is better if it is the capital of South Korea. In order to reach the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, Mongolia, and Maritime Territory, it is necessary to have an infrastructure capable of functioning as a peaceful and economical’imperial capital’ from now on.
■ “You can’t catch the jeonse with public-led supply… Let the private run”
Public has no money and lack of ability
It’s just a private aid
Eliminate usage area and floor height regulations
The answer is easing transfer tax and reconstruction regulations
Experts who attended the’REbuild Seoul’ series discussion also presented a solution to the current twisted real estate market. A plan to solve the increasingly severe jeonse crisis and effective supply plan were discussed. They advised, “It is fortunate that the government is starting to recognize the shortage of supply,” but advised that “don’t stick to public-oriented policies and study how to attract the private sector.” Regarding the jeonse crisis, there were many opinions that the demand for leases should be transferred to the demand for trading by making the sale appear in the market through △relaxation of financial regulations and a temporary cut in the transfer tax.
―What is the real estate topic during the Seoul Mayor’s by-election in April?
▶CEO Kim = There is a perception of shortage of supply. The issue is the proportion of public and private sectors. Some believe that the public role should be large, while others believe that the union should dominate. There may be a new town issue, but the question is how to make a house that can be used in a short time. The player who buys a home is a combination. However, they misunderstand that the public can solve this. We need to go to the concept of increasing the supply of unions and subsidizing them by the public.
▶Vice-Chairman Jeong = The topic is to supply effectively. The reason for the supply shortage is strengthening publicity. The public has neither money nor ability, but it was impossible to do everything. The private sector must enter. If you get preferential treatment, you can exchange it. The development of the station area as stated by Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byeon Chang-heum is good, but if publicity is strengthened, it will not work. The land is enough. If the 35-story height limit is lifted and reconstruction is allowed, 150,000 households can be supplied. If the released new town is promoted again, it will be 250,000 households. The school does not have to be on a single floor. Japan also has high-rise schools. You can build a school below and an apartment above. The private sector should be able to come up with ideas and use them.
▶Professor Jeong = What will you do if another infectious disease such as Corona 19 comes out in the future? Should it be built with high density like now? The candidates probably won’t come out after studying this far.
―What should I do about the jeonse crisis?
▶Vice-Chairman Jeong = A lot of sales will come out just by temporarily cutting the transfer tax. There is also a new stay method of the former government. If you guarantee a profit of only 5%, you will find and build anywhere. It can be done quickly by easing the procedure.
▶CEO Kim = Jeonse is a stepping stone to self. Moving demand for cheonsei into its own lowers pressure on the cheonsei market. If a lot of homes are supplied by themselves, many people who lived in jeonse will pass over. Obstacles must be eliminated when passing. You need to increase your finances. The lack of self-supply of housing and the reduction of finance is a bummer. These two have to be addressed.
▶Professor Jeong = We need to increase supply to get the full set. Multi-family and multi-household can be supplied in three months, but this also has a problem. Seoul already has experience. Urban living houses built in 2009 are a headache for Seoul. It is not popular because it has 0.4 parking spaces per household. It is a bigger problem if we solve the floor area ratio because suddenly there is a shortage of supply and create a headache by activating the street housing maintenance business. Very cheap homes do not have a charter problem now. The problem now is the middle class and the first class. There is nowhere for people in the 3rd to 5th quintiles to live.
[손동우 부동산전문기자 / 정리 = 김태준 기자]
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