District designation for Seoripul 2 finalized; Gangnam area to see early supply of 20,000 homes in total
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday it has completed the official designation of the Seoripul 2 Public Housing District in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. The government plans to accelerate the project's ground-breaking timeline by more than two years, targeting the start of construction on 2,000 homes by December 2028.
The Seoripul district was announced as a new housing site in November 2024, when the government revived the option of lifting Seoul's greenbelt restrictions for the first time in roughly 12 years amid persistent concerns about a supply cliff — even after the third-generation new towns in the Greater Seoul area and additional new sites had been unveiled. The plan calls for 18,000 homes in Seoripul District 1 and 2,000 in Seoripul District 2, forming a residential belt of 20,000 units in total. Of those, 55 percent — or 11,000 units — are to be offered as long-term jeonse, or deposit-based rental housing, for newlywed couples.
A ministry official said Seoripul District 2 benefits from excellent access to central Gangnam and a favorable natural environment including Umyeonsan, adding that it will be developed alongside Seoripul District 1 — designated in February — as a live-work residential complex supporting the high-tech industries clustered around Yangjae and Gangnam.
The government has decided to compress the construction timeline for Seoripul District 2 to speed up housing supply. A standard housing site project typically takes about 56 months from district designation to ground-breaking. The ministry said it will fast-track the process by completing follow-up procedures such as district planning before the formal designation and running housing design work in parallel with site preparation. Seoripul District 1 is also expected to break ground around the same time.
Lee Jae-pyeong, the ministry's director general for housing supply policy, said: "As Seoripul District 2, together with Seoripul District 1, is a public housing site project in an attractive location within Seoul's Gangnam area, we plan to push the project forward swiftly through rigorous management and close communication with residents." He added: "We will boldly cut unnecessary procedures and pursue permitting and construction in parallel, making this an exemplary case of dramatically accelerating project timelines."
hss@heraldcorp.com