Jamsil Jugong 5 relocation of 3,930 units comes into view as complex moves toward redevelopment endgame

The Jamsil Jugong 5 complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul, has begun preparations to enter the management and disposal plan stage of its redevelopment — 23 years after the project was first set in motion. Following project implementation plan approval in July, the reconstruction association has launched a search for firms to handle the mandatory validity review of its management and disposal plan as well as future eviction litigation, bringing the large-scale relocation of 3,930 households into realistic view. Once relocation begins in earnest, the movement of that many households seeking jeonse housing is expected to send ripples through the local rental market.

According to industry sources, the Jamsil Jugong 5 Apartment Housing Reconstruction and Improvement Project Association published a tender notice Thursday for a firm to conduct a validity review of its management and disposal plan. Bids close Wednesday at 2 p.m. The association also issued a separate tender the same day for a law firm to handle eviction proceedings and ownership transfer registration litigation, with that bid closing Wednesday at 3 p.m.

According to the notice, the project site covers 358,077 square meters in the Jamsil-dong 27 area of Songpa-gu. The redevelopment will replace the existing 3,930-unit residential complex and 215 neighborhood commercial units with a new development of up to 65 above-ground floors and four below-ground floors, comprising 6,411 residential units along with ancillary welfare facilities.

The management and disposal plan is the stage at which the assessed value of existing homes and land, the pre-sale prices of new units, and each association member's share of construction costs are finalized, and the method of allocating rights to new apartments is determined.

The validity review the association has now commissioned will examine whether the pre-sale procedures and eligibility criteria, valuations of existing and future assets, project cost calculations, member contribution assessments, and management and disposal standards all comply with relevant laws and the association's own bylaws. Given that Jamsil Jugong 5 is a large complex of 3,930 units, finalizing the management and disposal plan is expected to bring each member's financial obligations and rights allocation into sharp focus.

Alongside the validity review, the association has begun selecting a law firm to handle eviction proceedings and ownership transfer litigation — preparations for the relocation and demolition phases that may require legal action against owners or occupants who fail to vacate by the required deadline after management and disposal plan approval. Several steps remain before relocation can begin, however, including appraisals of existing assets, member pre-sale applications, drafting and general assembly approval of the management and disposal plan, and official authorization — meaning the actual timing of relocation will depend on how the project progresses.

The complex received project implementation plan approval on July 1. Under the approved plan, 4,942 units in a building of up to 49 above-ground floors will be built on the residential portion of the site, while 1,469 units in a building of up to 65 above-ground floors will rise on a mixed-use plot adjacent to Jamsil Station. The association plans to conduct asset appraisals and accept member pre-sale applications in the second half of this year, and to apply for management and disposal plan authorization in 2027.

Completed in 1978, Jamsil Jugong 5 is one of Seoul's most prominent long-running redevelopment sites. A reconstruction promotion committee received approval in December 2003, the complex was designated a redevelopment zone in 2005, and the association was formally established in 2013. Progress stalled for years, however, as disputes over building height regulations and school site requirements held up subsequent procedures — a stark contrast to the neighboring Jamsil Jugong complexes 1 through 4, which completed reconstruction around 2009 as the Els, Ricenz, Trizium and Lake Palace developments.

The project regained momentum in 2022 when Seoul's Urban Planning Committee approved a redevelopment plan allowing buildings of up to 50 floors. A revised plan permitting up to 70 floors on the mixed-use plot near Jamsil Station was subsequently approved in 2024 following a rapid integrated planning review, and was later refined to a maximum of 65 floors during an integrated deliberation process. After passing an integrated review in June last year and submitting an application for project implementation plan authorization in December of that year, the complex received approval this past July — putting it on the cusp of the management and disposal plan stage for the first time since the promotion committee was approved in 2003.

Sale prices remain elevated. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction price disclosure system, an 82.61-square-meter unit at Jamsil Jugong 5 changed hands on Aug. 6 for 4.58 billion won ($3.37 million), on the ninth floor. The same floor area set a record high when it sold for 4.62 billion won on the 11th floor in December last year, but the upward trend stalled earlier this year as discussions intensified over reinstating the capital gains tax surcharge on multi-home owners. Prices have since climbed back above the 4.5 billion won mark.

If the complex proceeds as planned to seek management and disposal plan authorization next year, the key variables will be the assessed value of each member's existing assets, pre-sale prices, additional contribution amounts, and relocation financing loans. Once management and disposal plan authorization is secured, the relocation of nearly 4,000 households will begin in earnest, with the potential to affect the jeonse and monthly rent market in Jamsil and the broader Songpa area.

The local jeonse supply did expand sharply from late last year into early this year as two large complexes — Jamsil Le'El (1,865 units) and Jamsil Raemian I'Park (2,678 units) — completed move-ins, adding a combined 4,543 units to the market. Even so, jeonse prices have continued to rise. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly apartment price trend data for the fifth week of August, jeonse prices in Songpa-gu have risen 8.90 percent so far this year — among the highest of any district in Seoul, though still below the more than 10 percent cumulative gains recorded in parts of the northeastern corridor including Nowon-gu and Seongbuk-gu.

Kim Hyo-seon, a senior real estate specialist at KB Kookmin Bank, said Jamsil has long been subject to land transaction permit zone restrictions, and that many buyers who entered the market recently as redevelopment projects accelerated are required to meet owner-occupancy requirements. "A significant share of Jamsil Jugong 5 owners are likely to be actual residents," she said.

She added that if relocation picks up in earnest next year, the jeonse market in the Jamsil area could face considerable strain. "Jeonse prices in Jamsil are already high, so how smoothly association members can secure the relocation financing they need will be a key variable determining the pace of the project," she said.