``High Density`` Reconstruction Is Likely To Be Accelerated Next Year

Currently, high-density apartment complexes within Seoul City are as such; 18,360 households in the Jamwon Dong, Banpo, 1.888 million square meter size of the Banpo zone; 10,800 households in the Jamshil Dong, 695,400 square meter size of Jamshil zone; 85,000 households in the 13 districts, including 1356 households of Asian Athletes Apartment complex, 12.2 million square meter.

Seoul City responded yesterday to the civil petition by saying that ``a regulation of the City is that the floor area ratio (FAR) cannot exceed 250 percent which is the maximum permissible ratio, since the high density apartment complex exists within the residential area.`` The petition, issued by the `high density area reconstruction council`, appealed to Seoul City for allowing the FAR of the reconstruction up to 300 percent.

A City official said, ``After the city plan regulation was enforced since last July, Seoul City has limited the FAR up to 250 percent whether it is the reconstruction of a residential house or a row house. Seoul City cannot alleviate the FAR only to the high density zones in which only 5 percent of the total city households reside.``

Based on the indication that a basic plan has not changed since the reconstruction of the high-density apartment complex was designated as the apartment complex on August 1976, Seoul City also plans to work on the alteration directive on the basic plan early next year.

Along with the alteration directive on the apartment complex, Seoul City intends to establish concrete plans, such as the regulations on the FAR, height, and the number of floors in accordance with the district, keeping the 250 percent maximum permissible ratio, and the expansion of the public lands, including schools, roads, and parks as well as city facilities.

Seoul City plans to complete the alteration directive on the basic plan by June 2003, along with the operation to subdivide the residential areas by the categories, which is currently undergoing within each district. However, City decided to allow the reconstruction by establishing a separate plan for each district when it receives the application for the reconstruction because the size of the high-density apartment complex is extensive.

The existing basic plan for the high-density apartment complex does not have concrete standards for the construction, such as the FAR and the height, except the density of the development. Meanwhile, except the Banpo zone, the procedure for the reconstruction is undergoing in the five low-density apartment complexes along with the completion of the alteration directive on the basic plan.

Park Yun-Chul yc97@donga.com