At Hyundai Motor Group, plans have been in the works for over a decade to build the Global Business Complex -- a set of skyscrapers that would serve as the global auto conglomerate’s new headquarters -- in southern Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam district. But that dream has not yet been realized as the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Hyundai Motor have been unable to reach an agreement on the GBC construction plan, repeatedly going back and forth with new proposals and demands. Here’s how the tug-of-war has played out round by round over the years.

Hyundai Motor bought land in Gangnam formerly owned by Korea Electric Power Corp. at a price of 10.55 trillion won ($7.35 billion) in September 2014. The automaker later announced plans to build a 105-story skyscraper there.

An official groundbreaking ceremony never took place, however, due to a series of hurdles, such as a disagreement between the governments of Seoul and Gangnam-gu over the use of Hyundai Motor’s 1.7 trillion won public contribution for the development of the land, environmental impact screenings and delayed assessments from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

As the construction of the GBC continued to be pushed back, Hyundai Motor submitted a revised plan to the city government in February 2024 that would scrap the proposed 105-story building and instead establish two 55-story buildings and four lower buildings. If the revised plan is approved by the second half of 2025, Hyundai Motor said about 4.6 trillion won will be invested in the GBC project through 2026, creating 9,200 new jobs.

The Seoul city government underscored that the new proposal has to go through a new round of pre-negotiations and discussions, saying that the GBC is not like building an ordinary house, where plans can simply be reported to the city before quickly starting construction. Hyundai withdrew the revised plan in July 2024.

Seoul City announced in February 2025 that Hyundai Motor had come up with a third proposal, this time featuring three 54-story buildings. The city said it plans to engage in negotiations according to regulations and guidelines and will push for the construction plan to be quickly reviewed.

The city government noted that the Hyundai GBC had been postponed for a long time since the initial decision to develop the land, vowing to conduct administrative processes as efficiently as possible to bolster Seoul’s competitiveness and create quality jobs for the future.

Experts have repeatedly pointed out that leaving the land empty in one of the busiest and most productive areas in Seoul is a waste of its value, calling for a prompt resolution of the impasse over the landmark project.