Hyundai’s planned 105-story tower halved in revised proposal

The motor group has scratched its planned 105-story skyscraper in favor of two buildings with some 50 floors each.

The site where Hyundai Motor Group’s new headquarters, the Global Business Center, will be constructed in Samseong-dong, Gangnam District in southern Seoul. The buildings will be located across from COEX, a famous commercial landmark in Seoul. [YONHAP]

Hyundai Motor Group has modified its plan to erect a 105-story skyscraper in Samseong-dong, Gangnam District in southern Seoul, halving it to 55 floors.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the company filed a request to the city to revise the design of its original plan, dubbed the Global Business Center (GBC), on Feb. 7.

The automaker group initially intended to have a single high-rise building.

However, the modified plan entails that the GBC will consist of six buildings — two high-rises with some 50 floors each and four low-rise buildings with cultural and commercial amenities.

“The group will bring a sustainable and practical space by reflecting internal and external changes in business leadership and the corporate vision for the future,” an official from Hyundai Motor Group said.

The group purchased the 79,342 square-meter (19.6-acre) plot previously owned by Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) for 10.55 trillion won ($7.9 billion).

The rendered image shows the how the original version of Hyundai Motor Group's Global Business Center with 105 stories would have looked. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Although the company negotiated with city officials to build a 569-meter-tall (1,866-feet-tall) building that can accommodate office space and hospitality facilities, rising construction costs snagged the corporate ambition to have a skyscraper.

The company has been reviewing the design change since early 2021. It also considered having two 70-story-tall buildings or three 50-story-tall buildings instead of a single skyscraper.

With the city postponing the approval of excavating work in September 2021, the plan change became visible. Construction costs snowballed with the delays, imposing a heavier financial burden on the carmaker. “The group will coordinate with the city government to make the construction completion date align with other developmental projects happening in the neighborhood,” a company official said. “Hyundai anticipates that the city will proactively provide administrative support for the vitalization of the local economy.”

The original version of GBC — what would have been 105 stories — could not become the nation’s tallest building, with Lotte World Tower keeping its place with 123 stories.

“Hyundai would not go out of their way or invest extra because the company would not win the title of the country’s highest skyscraper even with its original plan,” an official from the industry said.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo’s report on Thursday, Hyundai is currently reviewing the installation of vertiports and heliports for its urban air mobility business.

The company said sheathing — a fundamental construction process to prevent ground layers from collapsing — is now complete and earthing and anchoring works are underway.

BY LEE SOO JUNG, PARK YOUNG-WOO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]