As summer heats up, so do the issues surrounding construction policies and plan tackles random land development in Seoul Metropolitan Area. Perhaps the hottest policy potato of the moment involves regulation changes regarding development of semi-agric...
As summer heats up, so do the issues surrounding construction policies and plan tackles random land development in Seoul Metropolitan Area. Perhaps the hottest policy potato of the moment involves regulation changes regarding development of semi-agricultural and forest areas. While development of urban areas has been controlled under laws governing city development, that of other areas, particularly semi-agricultural areas, has not been strictly controlled due to loopholes in laws governing them.
In 1994 the government passed a law that enabled semi-agricultural and forest areas, areas deemed to have been of low preservation value, to be used for development purposes in order to more efficiently utilize and manage land development.
The result of this policy was that apartments now stand among rice fields and restaurants and love hotels are indiscriminately located. Semi-agricultural areas account for 26 percent of Korea's land, the second largest after the agricultural areas, which take up 51.4 percent. The rest includes urban areas (14.4 percent), quasi-urban areas (1.15 percent) and development-restricted zones (7.1 percent), otherwise called greenbelts.
Yongin, a city south of Seoul adjoining Pundang, another urban sprawl creation, has been making headlines in recent years as a result of land speculation. High-rise apartment buildings have sprung up there and most of the apartments are occupied by people from Seoul and other areas. During rush hour, traffic around the housing development area is congested with commuters going to or returning from work.
We will introduce a European-style development permit system in areas where random development has been rampant. Under the new system, a strict building permit will be required for any development project in the Semi-agricultural zone. More fundamental measures are needed to resolve the land development issue.
For environment-friendly land development, the government also plans to conduct a large-scale nationwide survey of land aptitude to exempt areas deemed worth preserving from development. It also intends to apply the principle of "plan first and develop later" to lands eligible for development.