Redevelopment and reconstruction projects in Seoul's prime redevelopment areas — Apgujeong, Yeouido, Mokdong, and Seongsu-dong (collectively known as "Apyeomokseong") — have entered full swing as contractor selections continue. While fierce bidding wars over construction costs in the trillions of won have created the appearance of uniform progress across these districts, actual project stages vary widely from one zone to another. Analysts note that differences in project pace are emerging more from internal union conflicts, construction cost negotiations, and public contribution discussions than from physical conditions such as location or building age.
According to the redevelopment industry on the 25th, project stages at major Apyeomokseong redevelopment sites have diverged by at least two to three steps between leading and trailing zones. In Apgujeong, District 2 selected Hyundai Engineering & Construction as its contractor in September last year, followed by District 4 awarding its construction contract to Samsung C&T on the 24th of this month. Meanwhile, District 1 remains at the union establishment preparatory committee stage. District 6 has also seen sluggish progress amid persistent disagreements over whether to pursue integrated reconstruction across Hanyang complexes 5, 7, and 8 or proceed with reconstruction by individual complex.
In Yeouido, Daegyo Apartment crossed the "9th ridge" by receiving management and disposition plan approval this month, but Miseong Apartment has yet to even establish a union. In Mokdong, Complex 6 is moving quickly, having selected DL E&C as its preferred negotiating partner and received a proposed new complex name, "Acro Mokdong Regency." In contrast, Complexes 1 through 3 are at the relatively earlier stages of union establishment preparatory committee approval or union establishment authorization. In the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment District, Zone 1 has selected GS Engineering & Construction as its contractor, but Zone 2 is restarting the contractor selection process after forming a new executive team following internal union turmoil. Zone 4 will hold a contractor selection general assembly on the 27th of next month, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Lotte Engineering & Construction having participated in the bidding.
One of the most prominent variables exacerbating project delays is conflict over union operations. As construction firms pursue "selective bidding" by weighing construction costs against project risks, sites burdened by union infighting have repeatedly seen well-attended on-site briefings fail to translate into actual bids. At Seongsu Zone 2, no construction firms submitted bids in the first main bidding round held in September last year, immediately after controversies erupted over allegations of sexual misconduct by the union chairman and his reversed resignation. Even DL E&C abandoned participation, and the new executive team only launched in March this year and is now restarting the contractor selection process.
Apgujeong faces a similar situation. The chair position at Apgujeong District 1 (Miseong Complexes 1 and 2) has sat vacant for about three years amid Miseong Complex 1's push for standalone reconstruction and lawsuits against Gangnam-gu Office. District 6 (Hanyang Complexes 5, 7, and 8) — considered one of the zones with the best Han River views — has also been mired for years in unresolved disagreements over integrated versus separate reconstruction across the three complexes, leaving the integrated reconstruction effort spanning all of District 6 effectively stuck before even the preparatory committee stage.
In Mokdong, friction continues over the trust-based approach that has emerged as an alternative to compensate for the limitations of the union-based method. Complex 7 had signed a preliminary trust company business agreement with Koramco Asset Trust but reversed course toward the union-based method after many owners protested that "procedures and information sharing are opaque." With 8 of Mokdong's 14 complexes having adopted the trust-based method, conflicts have surfaced as union members at some complexes have raised concerns over high fees and decision-making structures, forming emergency response committees or demanding a switch to the union-based method.
Construction costs have also emerged as a key variable determining project pace. With construction costs in the Apyeomokseong area running high at 9.5 million to 12.4 million won per 3.3 square meters, single bids, failed bids, and private contracts have followed in succession. The structure breeds internal conflict: when a union proposes lower construction costs, construction firms turn away, but when costs are set higher, union members' contribution burdens increase. Seongsu Zone 1 included terms favorable to the union — such as royal floor allocations for union members, additional relocation expenses, and guaranteed completion — in its bidding notice in August last year, but withdrew the notice after pushback from construction firms. It has since picked up speed by selecting GS Engineering & Construction as its contractor. Outlooks suggest that trailing zones such as Mokdong Complexes 1 to 3 and Yeouido's Miseong Apartment may also encounter difficulties at the contractor selection stage when setting construction costs.
There are also cases where public contribution negotiations delayed project launches. Mokdong Complexes 1 to 3 gained momentum after their redevelopment zone designation was completed in December last year. Unlike Complexes 4 to 14, Complexes 1 to 3 had remained Class 2 general residential zones, making zoning upgrades a long-standing prerequisite for project advancement. When the Seoul Metropolitan Government required public-supported private rental housing supply as a public contribution tied to the zoning upgrade, residents pushed back. A compromise was eventually reached when the "Mokdong Greenway" plan — an approximately 3.5-kilometer open green space connecting Gukhoe-daero Park and Anyangcheon — was proposed as an alternative public contribution.
Some observers argue that the Seoul Metropolitan Government and autonomous districts should move beyond their role as permitting authorities and strengthen their mediation functions to coordinate conflicts among unions, emergency response committees, trust companies, and construction firms. "Because urban redevelopment has a complex project structure and diverse stakeholders, the public sector must go beyond simple administrative support and participate from the early stages of a project to mediate disputes early," an official at the Korea Land and Housing Research Institute said. "In particular, rather than intervening after the fact once conflicts have fully erupted, the key to preventing project delays is reducing information asymmetry by deploying legal, financial, and urban planning experts from the early stages, including redevelopment zone designation and the establishment of preparatory committees and unions."
