Ruling Party and Government Draw Up Plans for Metropolitan Area Development

Starting next year at the earliest, in nature preservation zones in the metropolitan area, including Icheon City, Gwangju City, and Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, large-scale residential developments exceeding 60,000 square meters (approximately 18,150 pyeong) are expected to be permitted.

Currently in these areas, development of residential property exceeding 60,000 square meters is prohibited in a bid to preserve the environment.

The Ministry of Construction and Transportation and the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development held a consultative meeting with the ruling Uri Party at the National Assembly and concluded a “comprehensive measure on the metropolitan area development” such as the above on June 27.

Based on this plan, after revising its related regulations starting from the second half of this year, the government plans to enforce this measure in stages.

According to this comprehensive measure, if a nature preservation zone introduces both the “District Unit Plan” and the “Total Maximum Daily Loads Program” that can prevent pell-mell development and minimize water pollution, the government will review a measure easing the limit for establishing residential areas.

By revising a regulation that doesn’t allow new four-year universities to be established in the metropolitan area, the government plans to give universities the green light to transfer their campuses to other sites even in Seoul as well.

The government decided to push ahead measures in which the site of the Defense Security Command to be relocated will be used in line with the historical and cultural area to be established around Gwanghwamun, and the military unit in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul will be relocated outside of Seoul.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com