An ad for Daewoo E&C's Sinbanpo Summit La Fiume, which will be built by 2030 in Seocho District, southern Seoul, explains that "la fiume" means "the river" in Italian. Courtesy of Daewoo E&C

Major construction firms have broken their promise from last December to accept the Seoul Metropolitan Government's request to simplify the names of apartment complexes by using more Korean words in their names.

The companies have still invented new words by combining various European languages to satisfy landlords who want complicated names that exude a high-end image.

Last Saturday, a consortium of Samsung C&T and GS E&C won approval from landlords for their proposal for the Arche, which means "the first principle" in Greek, as the name of an apartment complex to be built in Seoul's southeastern Songpa District.

Samsung C&T was also selected in May as the company to remodel an apartment complex in Seoul's southern Seocho District, after suggesting One Felice, the combination of the number one in English with felice, which means happy in Italian.

In a recent competition with HDC Hyundai Development Company to win the order to build an apartment complex by redeveloping part of Seoul's central Yongsan District, Samsung C&T proposed Superus, which means "the gods above" in Latin.

Daewoo E&C came up with Summit La Fiume, the combination of summit, an English word used as the company's high-end brand name, and an Italian phrase, "la fiume," translated as "the river," before it was chosen last month to rebuild an apartment complex in Seocho District.

POSCO E&C also suggested Artrio, the combination of an English word, art, and rio, which means river in Spanish, before it was chosen in June to remodel an apartment complex in Seoul's southwestern Yeongdeungpo District.

Hyundai E&C proposed Centermark, a combination of center and landmark, before it was selected in June to rebuild an apartment complex in Songpa District.

When the city government decided late last year to draw up guidelines by the first half of this year for simpler apartment names, Samsung C&T, Hyundai E&C, GS E&C, Daewoo E&C, POSCO E&C and four other major construction firms vowed to use more Korean words.

However, the non-binding guidelines announced in February have remained ineffective.

“It is difficult to suggest different types of names, as landlords prefer stylish names,” a construction industry official said.