Mok-dong Jamsil and other rapid integration planning promotion complexes in Seoul are suffering from the ‘splitting of shopping malls’. In the new town of Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, where reconstruction began in earnest with the first residents briefing held on the 2nd, a case was also found in which a shopping mall was divided into 50. There are increasing cases of exploiting the system’s deficiencies, but concerns are growing that the government and the city of Seoul are virtually ignorant, which could become an ‘ambush’ for the promotion of maintenance projects.
○ Let’s promote Shintong Planning and divide into 50 shopping districts
According to the maintenance industry on the 16th, it was found that there have been multiple cases of division of shopping malls in apartment complexes 1 to 14 in the new town of Mok-dong this year. One of them split the first floor of a shopping mall into 36 and the second floor into 14 in June, dividing it into 50. In some places, the width was just over 1.5m, and the total area was only 5m2. On the 27th of last month, the Yangcheon-gu Office reported that many of the cases were suspected of being speculative “splitting of shopping malls,” not for business purposes, and on the 27th of last month, it announced a “restriction on permission for development” for the Mok-dong new town complex and Shinwol Siyeong Apartment. Construction and land division are prohibited for three years after the notification date.
The Mok-dong apartment complex is currently tied to a land transaction permit zone, so even if the mall is split, it cannot be bought or sold. An official from the maintenance industry said, “If the land transaction permit system is revoked in the future, the pre-divided shopping mall can be packaged and sold as ‘new apartment sales rights can be obtained’.”
Expectations for development in the Mok-dong area are growing as most of the complexes have passed the safety diagnosis, which is the first step in reconstruction. Complex 6, which has the fastest speed, unveiled a reconstruction sketch at a quick integration planning briefing on the 2nd.
The situation is similar for popular reconstruction complexes in Songpa-gu. Since last year, there have been more than 40 commercial divisions in three complexes, called the ‘Olympic Three Musketeers’: Olympic Athletes’ Village, Olympic Family Town, and Asian Athletes’ Village. All three complexes passed the safety inspection this year. The Olympic Village, which has secured a consent rate of 30%안전놀이터, is pursuing an application for rapid integrated planning. Songpa-gu is reviewing whether to restrict activities for major reconstruction complexes.
Since last March, Gangnam-gu has designated seven areas, including Mido and Sunkyung Apartment in Daechi-dong, Miseong in Apgujeong-dong, Donghyeon in Nonhyeon-dong, and Gaepo Hyundai 1st, Gaepo Gyeongnam, and Gaepo Wooseong 3rd in Gaepo-dong, as restricted areas for permitting and development. Most of them are complexes in which rapid integration planning is in progress or being reviewed.
An official from a ward office said, “There are many cases where it is difficult to raise an issue if it is argued that it is a division for business purposes.”
○ It is urgent to revise the law to prevent ‘backward countermeasures’It is because of loopholes in the law that the complex in the early stages of reconstruction is in conflict over the splitting of shares in the shopping mall. The Urban and Residential Environment Reorganization Act regulates the splitting of housing and land shares, but there is no regulation on splitting shares through the division of commercial buildings.
In principle, the owner of a commercial building can only sell a commercial building, but the fact that the cooperative can receive the right to move in if specified in the articles of incorporation is also cited as a factor that aggravates the conflict. As it is known that ‘an apartment can be created if done well’, there are many complexes that increase the qualifications for apartment sales by splitting one shopping district into several before the association is established.
Ambiguous regulations act as a major stumbling block to reconstruction projects with complex interests. In Sinbanpo 2, Seocho-gu, a legal dispute is underway, claiming that there was an illegal act, in a situation where the number of shopping districts increased from 77 to 111. Sinbanpo 12th also canceled the establishment of the union once due to a lawsuit with the shopping district. In Daewoo Marina Apartment, Haeundae-gu, Busan, a corporation is in conflict with apartment residents last year when it divided and sold an underground shopping center (10,044 square meters) into 123 units.
Experts unanimously say that the law is urgently revised to prevent ‘backward response’ and minimize conflicts within the union. However, the government only formalized the revision of the law last April, and the bill proposed by the National Assembly is also being pushed back in the standing committee. Some point out that the city of Seoul is only focusing on promoting rapid integrated planning without any alternatives.