Conventional Market Can Be Rebuild As Multistory Building

From next year, in case of redevelopment or reconstruction of a conventional market, a builder can build a multistory residential and commercial complex of 400-700 percent floor space ratio, even if it is located within the residential area. Currently, the urban planning law and city and provincial regulation restrict the floor ratio to 150-250 percent in the general residential area. The introduction of new regulation can benefit 193 conventional markets located in the general residential area among 636 conventional markets around the nation. And the new regulation will also be applied to 27 markets, which are currently under the process of redevelopment or reconstruction.

The Commerce, Industry and Energy Committee of the National Assembly agreed to newly establish the special law for structural improvement of small and medium companies, and the revitalization of conventional market on 6th. As a measure to revitalize the conventional market, the ruling and opposition parties set this new law through the painstaking debate, which will be executed from April 1 next year after preparing for the enforcement ordinance.

According to new regulation, city mayors or provincial governors can change the general residential area to semi-residential area or commercial area and semi-residential area to commercial area, for areas designated as redevelopment or reconstruction area by the administrator of the Small & Medium Business Administration. Thus, the regulation opened the way to build higher residential and commercial complex. Some provincial governments will be able to approve the floor ratio up to 1,300 percent in the commercial area. The urban planning law set in July provided that the local governors cannot change the use of area in the regions other than city.

And the new law simplified to a large degree the urban planning procedure for redevelopment or reconstruction of conventional market, according to which the procedure can be completed within 6 months. Currently, the redevelopment planning procedure takes average 2 years because it has to go through the consultation with the urban planning committee, land register notification, etc.

Finally, the committee decided to exempt 50 percent of `the condensation tax`, which imposes 10 percent of construction cost on newly-built buildings in the metropolitan overpopulation area.

Sin Yeon-Su ysshin@donga.com