Some landowners in the Apgujeong 3 district of Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which is considered a major reconstruction project, have been revealed to be the Seoul city government and construction companies such as Hyundai Engineering & Construction, leading to the prospect of a large-scale lawsuit. The cause of this situation is attributed to the improper share arrangement during the development of the Apgujeong apartment district by Hyundai Engineering & Construction in the 1970s. For the reconstruction association members, this has introduced an 'unexpected variable.' Legal action will inevitably accompany the ownership clarification, which is expected to increase the cost burden.

According to the maintenance industry and the Seoul city government on the 15th, the Apgujeong 3 district reconstruction association is preparing a lawsuit against the Seoul city government, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and HDC Hyundai Industrial Development for the registration of ownership transfer within the project area.

The reason for the lawsuit is that it has been revealed that some landowners in the area are the Seoul city government and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, as well as Korea Urban Development (the predecessor of HDC Hyundai Industrial Development). The problematic sites include nine parcels: 462, 462-1, 462-2, 466, 478, 464, 464-1, 465, and 467-2 in Apgujeong-dong.

It has been identified that Hyundai Engineering & Construction owns 7,941 pyeong, Korea Urban Development owns about 942 pyeong, and the Seoul city government owns 1,408 pyeong. When converted to market value, this amounts to approximately 2.59 trillion won.

The maintenance industry is leaning towards the possibility that errors occurred due to Hyundai Engineering & Construction's failure to properly arrange shares during the development of the Apgujeong apartment district in the past. The association claims that Hyundai Engineering & Construction donated land it does not even own to the Seoul city government, complicating the ownership relations.

In fact, errors are also appearing in the land registry. When adding up the share ratios of the land that Hyundai Engineering & Construction donated to the Seoul city government, the total share exceeds 100%. The combined share of buildings and land should be 100%, and exceeding this suggests that there were errors in the past registration process.

However, the maintenance industry explains that it is common for registration errors to occur, as the administrative system has only recently been digitized. Both the Seoul city government and Hyundai Engineering & Construction have stated that the ownership relations can be clarified through accurate fact-finding and legal procedures.

A representative from Hyundai Engineering & Construction stated, "The cause is not clearly known, but it seems that the share arrangement was not properly done at that time," adding, "We are currently verifying the facts."



A representative from the Seoul city government also stated, "We believe that after clarifying the facts, we will first negotiate with each other, and if there are disagreements, the ownership relations will be clarified through litigation," adding, "If it turns out that the land belongs to the Seoul city government, cash settlement is expected to occur during the future reconstruction process." There are concerns that the reconstruction may be delayed due to the time required for ownership clarification. However, a representative from the Seoul city government predicted, "Since the association has already secured the resident consent rate of 75%, which is a requirement for establishing the association, this issue will not act as a hindrance to the project." However, the association will have to bear the costs for legal proceedings initially. The association plans to decide later whether to allocate costs based on the court's ruling or to treat them as public project expenses.

The Apgujeong 3 district, known as Apgujeong Kyu-hyeon Road, consists of complexes such as Hyundai 1-7 and 10, 13, 14, and Daelim Villat. Currently, the Apgujeong 3 district, which has 4,065 households, plans to transform into a maximum of 70 floors and 5,175 households through reconstruction. Being centrally located in the Apgujeong apartment district, it is evaluated as the most advantageous site among the Apgujeong reconstruction projects. Samsung C&T and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, ranked 1st and 2nd in domestic construction capability evaluation, are intensifying their competition to win the reconstruction project.

[Reporter Kim Yoo-shin]