Deputy Minister of Land: "Greenbelt Release Not Yet Under Review... Needs Careful Consideration"

"Greenbelt Should Be Preserved for Future Generations, Some Point Out"
"Higher Floor Area Ratio Means More Houses but Urban Capacity Is Limited"
"Despite the Three Lease Laws, Rent Prices Haven't Soared Unreasonably"

Park Sun-ho, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is speaking at the 'Construction Industry Green New Deal Response Seminar' held on the 10th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Park Seon-ho, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, was asked whether there is a possibility of lifting the Green Belt to increase housing supply in Seoul. He replied, "We have not started consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on this matter," and added, "We need to consider this carefully."

On the morning of the 15th, Vice Minister Park appeared on CBS Kim Hyun-jung's News Show and was asked, "There are many talks about lifting or maintaining the Green Belt. Which is correct?" He explained, "The government has not yet reviewed this at the national level," and "(The talks are about) the Seoul Green Belt, but we have not yet started consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on this issue."

Regarding the point that "the late Mayor Park Won-soon was firmly against lifting the Green Belt, so there are talks that it might be lifted after his passing," he responded, "It is inappropriate to discuss such political considerations."

He added, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport created the Green Belt system and is the department managing it to this day," emphasizing, "(The Green Belt) serves the purpose of preserving natural environments like green spaces, but also aims to prevent indiscriminate urban expansion and is meant to be preserved for future generations."

Vice Minister Park said, "Simply using the Green Belt to build houses requires careful consideration," and "while it is possible to put all issues that were not previously considered for expanding housing supply on the table and discuss them, no full-scale discussions on the Green Belt have yet begun."

Vice Minister Park showed a limited openness to easing regulations related to reconstruction to expand housing supply in Seoul.

He pointed out, "The issue is how much to increase the floor area ratio for the remaining reconstruction projects. While increasing the floor area ratio allows for more houses to be built, the city's capacity is limited, so traffic and residential environments deteriorate accordingly."

Vice Minister Park said, "It is a process of finding an appropriate development density that can increase housing supply while maintaining a pleasant residential and urban environment," adding, "The floor area ratio is a public good for city residents and cannot be simply regarded as private property. When the floor area ratio is increased, the public must also recover corresponding benefits."

Vice Minister Park also drew a line on concerns that the implementation of the so-called 'three lease laws'?the monthly rent reporting system, the right to request contract renewal, and the cap on rent increases?could cause a rapid surge in monthly rent prices in a short period, making life more unstable for ordinary citizens.

He said, "The solution regarding the three lease laws is for the National Assembly to legislate quickly," but also stated, "It is unrealistic to say that landlords set rent at unreasonable prices."

Vice Minister Park said, "What affects the monthly rent market is supply and demand. In the second half of the year alone, 110,000 housing units will be supplied in the metropolitan area, and about 20,000 to 30,000 units in Seoul," adding, "There are also many public rental housing units, so it is not appropriate to assume an extreme surge in monthly rent."

He also hinted at the possibility of stronger measures if housing prices do not stabilize despite successive real estate regulations such as the July 10 measures.

Vice Minister Park emphasized, "Speculative demand may find new loopholes to exploit," and "The government's position is to respond immediately to any instability caused by market conditions. Regardless of the strength of regulations, we will not hesitate to take necessary measures where needed."

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