Developable Semi-Arable and Forest Land Mass Decrease by Half

The Government has decided to eliminate semi-arable and forest land districts, which frequently drew public criticism due to troubled development, by 2003 and strictly manage them by converting the lands into government property. Accordingly, available lands, which make up 25.8 percent (approx. 25,700 km²) of total national land, is expected to be divided into three sections and the amount of developable land to be reduced by half.

The Ministry of Construction and Transportation announced that new regulations for `national land use and planning` will be established and the bill will be submitted to the National Assembly by the middle of this month. The new regulations will go into effect by January, 2003 if the bill passes. The newly proposed regulations will consolidate three regulations on △ national land use law △ city planning law △ national land construction general planning law.

The Ministry will consolidate suburban and semi-arable lands within the current divisions of △ urban △ suburb △ semi-arable △ arable △ conservation lands into one government district, and subdivide the district into conservation, production, and planning sections.

The floor for the building to land ratio in the new government districts will be around 40 to 20 percent compared to suburban and semi-arable districts. The lowest floor area ratio will be from 200 to 100 percent. Facility approval process will also change under the new regulations with `negative process` (prohibited facilities) and `positive process` (agricultural and green facilities). For apartment building in the districts, a `basic facility installation regulation` will be introduced which will require that the developers install roads, sewers, and other basic facilities that the residents need. This regulation is designed to prevent `free rider` small scale apartments built on public lands from using public installations, and will reinforce laws on building-to-land ratio and floor area ratio. Furthermore, a `development permit regulation` will be introduced to block out free-standing apartment.

``Due to reorganizing the lands into government districts and stricter construction standards, the amount of developable land will decrease about half in size. This will prevent negative development on semi-arable lands and good farmlands or scenic areas being taken over by private apartment complexes.`` said Chu Byung-Jik, vice minister of the Ministry of Construction and Transportation. In the urban district, the former residential floor space ratio will change from 700 to 500 percent, and from 200 to 100 percent for forest areas. Also, city planning which was required only for urban districts has been expanded to outlying areas, establishing clear urban planning for future development.

Koo Ja-Ryong bonhong@donga.com