Deals freeze in Gwangmyeong as public rental housing plan snags Cheolsan, Haan reconstruction

On Tuesday afternoon, the head of a real estate agency near Cheolsan 13 Complex in Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, said this with a note of concern. The Cheolsan-Haan public housing complexes, in the midst of reconstruction, now face a potential "assessment fee bomb" after Gwangmyeong abruptly demanded that public rental housing units be included in the project.

As resident opposition mounted, Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won personally attended a meeting with the Cheolsan-Haan Reconstruction Association Council — representing Cheolsan 12, Cheolsan 13, Haan 1-2, Haan 3-4, Haan 5, Haan 6-7, Haan 8, Haan 9, Haan 10-11 and Haan 12 complexes. Even there, the city stood firm on its position that withdrawing the rental housing request would be difficult.

The city said Mayor Park had apologized "for sending the official request for rental housing without prior consultation," and added that "future discussions will proceed in a direction that minimizes the increase in assessment fees and project delays, with working-level departments preparing supplementary measures."

Shortly afterward, the association council released a statement saying it would "prepare a flexible and practical agreement that does not harm the complexes' value or residential environment, in order to prevent indirect damage from project delays." Gwangmyeong and the council are expected to enter tough negotiations over the exact number of units.

In an official letter last month, Gwangmyeong requested that public rental housing be reflected when establishing or revising redevelopment plans, in order to "balance development profits with public welfare." In March 2024, the city set the maximum cumulative floor area ratio for the Cheolsan-Haan residential district at up to 330 percent, on the condition that developers incorporate eco-friendly and smart buildings, long-life housing and public rental housing.

The association council and residents are pushing back, arguing that there was no plan for public rental housing when the zones were designated two years ago and that the floor area ratio incentive had already been secured through other requirements such as eco-friendly buildings. More than 17,000 residents have already signed a petition opposing the plan.

Opposition remains strong on the ground. Banners opposing public rental housing hang alongside construction company banners throughout the complexes. Jang, a 54-year-old resident of Cheolsan-dong, said, "If a precedent is set that breaks residents' trust, conflicts will only get worse going forward. The biggest concern is the assessment fees." Jang added, "It is not that we want housing prices to rise because of the tax burden. We just want to keep living here."

A resident surnamed Lee, in the mid-60s, said, "The public rental housing request came suddenly, without any advance notice. Prices have risen a lot and the economy is not doing well, so residents all dislike hearing that the assessment fees they have to bear will grow even larger."

Concerns about damage to project feasibility were also widespread. A resident surnamed Kim, in the 50s, said, "Cheolsan has such a strong location that the project will move forward one way or another, but I am worried it could be delayed." Of Haan's eight zones, only Complex 3-4 has completed contractor selection, while four other zones are still in the selection process. Cheolsan Complex 12 received approval to establish its reconstruction association on Friday.

The head of a real estate agency near Cheolsan Complex 12 said, "The current resident opposition is less about disregarding rental housing itself and more about concerns over project delays and assessment fees. Since reconstruction is only a matter of time, many residents have resigned themselves to it as unavoidable."

The buying frenzy that had pushed prices up appears to be cooling into a wait-and-see mode, according to accounts from the scene. Zigbang's comparison of nationwide apartment sale prices from September 2025 to August 2026 found that Gwangmyeong's sale price per 3.3 square meters rose 28.4 percent over the year — the second-highest increase in the country after Bundang-gu in Seongnam (29.5 percent). At Cheolsan 13 Complex in Cheolsan-dong, an 84-square-meter unit sold for 1.58 billion won on Aug. 14, setting a new high.

An official at a nearby real estate agency said, "Inquiries used to come in consistently here, but in recent weeks there have not been any sales at all, and inquiries have also become rare. If rental housing units are added, the number of units will be the key issue — Cheolsan Xi The Heritage across the street set a precedent by including 92 rental units out of about 3,800 total, so the association will likely try to negotiate a smaller ratio than that."

Going forward, the key question for major redevelopment projects will be how to manage the growing burden on residents and construction companies from the introduction of public rental housing. Kim Sung-hwan, a research fellow at the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea, said, "Because this is a request from the permitting authority, residents may feel it is coercive. If pre-sale profits decrease, the burden on the association or the construction company will inevitably grow."

Kim added, "How much of a burden — tens of millions of won in assessment fees — each resident is willing to accept can vary greatly, so the process of reconciling these differences is expected to be arduous."