Seoul to loosen building height restrictions after 50 years

The N Seoul Tower, on Namsan, central Seoul (Getty Images Bank)

Seoul's "high-altitude" regulations that control building heights near mountains and major facilities are poised to be relaxed for the first time since their adoption over 50 years ago.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that the city’s Urban Planning Commission signed and approved an amendment to reorganize high-altitude regulations on Wednesday.

High-altitude regulations are a part of Seoul’s city management plan, which sets a maximum height limit for buildings to protect the cityscape and prevent the overcrowding of buildings.

The regulations were first set up in 1972, when they were applied to construction near the Seoul City Wall Trail in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Since then, the city government implemented high-altitude regulations in eight areas in Seoul, including near Namsan and Bukhansan, as well as near major facilities such as Gyeongbokgung.

According to the new regulations, new buildings in neighborhoods around Namsan will be able to be built up to 16 meters tall, from the previous limit of 12 meters.

Gugi-dong and Pyeongchang-dong in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, will be allowed to build their new buildings up to 24 meters high, up from the previous 20-meter limit, and buildings in Seochon with high-altitude regulations will also be able to raise their buildings to 24 meters.

Additionally, the cityscape management guidelines will be applied to areas close to Bukhansan and Namsan. New buildings can be built up from 40 to 45 meters high -- or around 15 stories -- as long as it doesn’t interfere with the surrounding landscape.

In the case of high-altitude regulations placed around the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, the city government added that it plans to continue its discussions with the National Assembly. The city has proposed easing the high-altitude regulations around the National Assembly since January but the proposal was declined due to security reasons.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to announce the new high-altitude regulations again and complete its discussions with related organizations by the end of May and issue its final high-altitude regulations by June.

“The city government will provide support to improve the living conditions in run-down districts by reorganizing high-altitude regulations,” said Cho Nam-jun, director general of the urban planning bureau at Seoul Metropolitan Government.

“We anticipate that it will contribute significantly to the preparation of a new urban planning system that will accelerate the development of Seoul.”

The amendment follows the city government's announcement in June 2023 of new high-altitude regulations. This change was in response to concerns that previous high-rise restrictions had hindered residential improvements and exacerbated the development gap with surrounding areas.

Following its announcement, the city government presented its specific plans to reorganize the high-altitude regulations to the Urban Planning Commission in January 2024 and filed a notice to the districts’ residents in March. Thursday’s announcement was made after reviewing opinions submitted by residents in the relevant areas and other relevant organizations.

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)