Seoul lifts ban on apartment buildings over 35 stories

A view of a residential area in southern Seoul [YONHAP]

The city of Seoul has lifted a citywide 35-story limit on apartment buildings to allow more flexible city planning and a greater variety of landscapes, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Thursday.

The city will abolish the blanket cap that had been applied to residential buildings across Seoul to create a more diverse skyline.

Height restrictions will be adjusted depending on the different conditions of each district, according to a long-term basic city design plan announced earlier in the day.

The height limit was introduced by Mayor Park Won-soon in 2014, largely to prevent the city from having too many tall skyscrapers in the middle of the city and prevent the monopolization of city views.

The current gross floor area and floor area ratio regulations will be maintained. Under the current law, the maximum floor area ratio for residential buildings is 300 percent of the ground area.

The city expects that flexible city planning will bring a greater variety of designs and views in the future.

Through the new design plan, the city also promised to make Seoul a place where people can access their homes, workplaces and enjoy leisure, all within a 30 minute walking distance.

"The new city plan is meaningful in that it is transitioning to a flexible city plan by reflecting the rapidly changing social environment," said Cho Nam-jun, the head of Seoul's urban planning team.

"We hope the plan will become a blueprint for improving the quality of people's lives in Seoul and increasing the city's competitiveness."

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]