Hyundai scraps plan for 105-story Gangnam headquarters

Hyundai Motor Group has abandoned plans to build a 105-story landmark headquarters in southern Seoul, opting instead for three 49-story office towers under a revised agreement with the city government, the company confirmed Tuesday.

Hyundai said that construction of its Global Business Complex in Gangnam is scheduled for completion by 2031.

The automaker bought the 79,342-square-meter site in 2014 for 10.5 trillion won ($7.2 billion), but the development plan has been revised repeatedly over the past decade.

In 2016, Hyundai announced its ambition to build a 105-story landmark tower following pre-negotiations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. At the time, the city raised the site’s floor-area ratio from 250 percent to 800 percent and cut Hyundai’s required public contribution by 233.6 billion won from 1.98 trillion won.

However, construction was repeatedly delayed amid rising raw material costs and shifting economic conditions. In 2024, Hyundai proposed building two 55-story towers, a move that drew opposition from the city, which favored a higher-profile skyline project.

Last year, the company submitted another revised plan featuring three 54-story buildings. Seoul and Hyundai recently reached a final compromise on three 49-story towers, with Hyundai agreeing to pay the full 1.98 trillion won public contribution without any reduction.

The city plans to use the funds for major infrastructure projects, including underground development along Yeongdong-daero, renovation of Jamsil Olympic Stadium and improvement of the Tancheon stream corridor.