Busan Participation Solidarity "Thoroughly Reconsider the Development of Hanjin CY Site, the Second LCT"

Busan Participation Solidarity "The Pre-Negotiation System is a Legal Privilege Granting Massive Profits to Private Operators"

Aerial photo of Hanjin CY site. (Photo by Busan City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jonghyo] Busan Participation Solidarity criticized that the pre-negotiation system for the Hanjin CY site, introduced for the first time in Busan, could provide “legal privileges” to private businesses.

The pre-negotiation system is a system in which the city, private proposers, and external experts collectively negotiate and decide on changes between land use zones and acceptance of development plans when developing idle land over 5,000㎡ or large-scale facility relocation sites within the region.

The main difference is that while general district unit plans only allow changes within the same land use zone, pre-negotiation type district unit plans allow changes between different land use zones. In other words, by facilitating land use changes, private businesses can gain enormous profits, which civic groups point out as providing “legal privileges.”

Participation Solidarity stated, “In fact, a super high-rise apartment complex is likely to be built, causing traffic and socio-economic problems in the Haeundae area,” and “The social contribution cost of 110 billion KRW proposed by the developer for development profits through land use changes must be verified whether it meets the public contribution ratio.” According to the pre-negotiation standards for district unit plans proposed by Busan City in 2016, if a Type 2 general residential area is changed to a commercial area, a public contribution fee of 40% must be paid according to the public contribution ratio standards.

Participation Solidarity also expressed concerns about the fairness of the negotiation coordination council formed for the pre-negotiation system.

Participation Solidarity criticized the system for reasons including ▲the inclusion of developers in the council members, which may reflect the interests of the developers ▲the low proportion of experts among the members ▲unclear selection criteria ▲lack of procedures to collect opinions and demands from local residents.

They warned, “It is a contradictory administration that removes semi-industrial and industrial areas that can create jobs while building commercial and residential facilities,” and “If the project proceeds as proposed by the developer, the pre-negotiation system will degenerate into a system to provide privileges to private businesses, and the development of the Hanjin CY site will be transformed into a second LCT.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.