Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Discuss Possibility of Utilizing Greenbelt (Comprehensive)

On the afternoon of the 15th, Park Seon-ho, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who is the head of the Practical Planning Team under the Task Force (TF) for Expanding Housing Supply, is giving an opening remark at Seoul City Hall. (Photo by Lee Chun-hee)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government has indicated its willingness to review the potential utilization of greenbelts on the outskirts of cities. It plans to directly examine whether to lift greenbelt restrictions through a cross-government task force established to expand supply.

At the first meeting of the practical planning team under the 'Housing Supply Expansion Task Force (TF)' held on the 15th at Seoul City Hall to devise solutions for housing supply in the metropolitan area, Park Seon-ho, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and head of the practical planning team, said, "We will put all possible alternatives for fundamental supply expansion on the table and discuss them." He added, "Along with discussions on the five measures presented in the July 10 plan, we will also have serious discussions on various issues that have not been reviewed so far, such as the possibility of utilizing greenbelts around cities."

On the 10th, the government announced a 'Supplementary Measure to Stabilize the Housing Market,' forming a housing supply expansion TF chaired directly by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki. Under this TF, a practical planning team led by MOLIT Vice Minister Park Seon-ho was established to develop detailed supply plans. The planning team includes not only MOLIT but also officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon City, and other related ministries and local governments.

At that time, the government proposed possible supply measures including ▲improving urban planning regulations for high-density development in city centers ▲increasing floor area ratios in the 3rd New Towns ▲discovering additional new housing sites such as idle land around cities and national facility sites within cities ▲relaxing urban regulations when implementing projects through public redevelopment and reconstruction to supply public rental and sale apartments for youth and newlyweds ▲utilizing vacant commercial and office spaces in city centers.

Accordingly, the first meeting of the practical planning team was held with relevant officials attending. The meeting focused on the operation plan of the practical planning team and key review tasks for housing supply.

In particular, to expedite the detailed tasks, a separate working group will be organized under the practical planning team to promptly materialize existing agenda items and discover new tasks. Once the agenda is detailed, it will be announced through the Housing Supply Expansion TF.

However, Seoul City still maintains a negative stance on lifting greenbelt restrictions. A senior Seoul City official explained before the meeting, "We decided not to discuss greenbelt issues at today's meeting." Previously, in 2018, MOLIT even considered unilaterally lifting greenbelt restrictions in Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu to expand housing supply in Seoul, but the plan was ultimately scrapped during the review stage.

Vice Minister Park said, "The principle of supply policy is to provide sufficient housing to actual demanders at good locations and at prices lower than market rates." He added, "The finalized content will be confirmed through the Housing Supply Expansion TF chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, and progress will be promptly reported to the public."

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