A major fire broke out in Guryong Village, located in the Gangnam district of Seoul, raising concerns about the ongoing urban development project in the area. The Seoul city government aims to begin construction in the second half of next year, but some residents are refusing to relocate due to compensation issues, leading to ongoing legal disputes. Currently, 140 out of 1,107 households remain occupied, making their relocation a key factor in the project's timeline.
According to relevant authorities, the fire started at 3:50 PM on October 27 in the second district of Guryong Village and was fully extinguished after approximately 12 hours and 50 minutes. One resident was injured, and 107 people lost their homes.
Guryong Village is the last large-scale shantytown in Seoul, where a residential complex with 3,739 units is being developed. The development plan, finalized last year, includes 1,107 public rental housing units for existing residents, 1,691 long-term rental units for newlyweds, and 941 units for general sale.
The city plans to complete the relocation of existing residents by the first half of next year and begin full-scale construction in the second half. However, with 12.6% of households still unrelocated, it remains uncertain whether construction will proceed as planned.
The Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH), the project implementer, secured ownership of the land and structures in the project area after about two years of compensation negotiations and acquisition procedures. However, some residents are demanding the provision of ownership rights and the establishment of local housing cooperatives, leading to ongoing eviction lawsuits. If these lawsuits prolong, it could disrupt the construction schedule.
SH maintains that it is difficult to accommodate residents' demands under current laws. Instead, it has proposed housing support measures, including a 60-100% reduction in rental deposits and rents, but disagreements over compensation methods persist.
Guryong Village was formed in the 1970s and 1980s when displaced residents from development in the Gangnam area and preparations for the Seoul Olympics settled there. The city designated Guryong Village as an urban development zone in 2016 and has been pursuing a development project aimed at improving living conditions and providing public housing.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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