Byeon Chang-heum "Floor area ratio in station areas should be increased to over 300% and the radius expanded to 500m"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Nominee Confirmation Hearing
"There is plenty of land available for development in Seoul"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport nominee Byeon Chang-heum is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Byun Chang-heum, the nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, revealed a plan to increase the floor area ratio in station areas by more than 300% and share development profits in order to expand housing supply in downtown Seoul. He also argued that the radius of station areas should be expanded to 500 meters to increase supply volume.

At the confirmation hearing for the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, Byun made these remarks in response to a question from Park Sang-hyuk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, about specific measures for housing supply in Seoul. He had previously expressed the opinion through written responses to the hearing that low-density areas in the city center, such as station areas, semi-industrial zones, and villa-dense areas, should be developed into high-density zones.

Byun diagnosed, "Many people think that since there is no vacant land in Seoul and the Greenbelt will not be lifted, there is no more land to develop, so new housing will not be supplied at affordable prices, and they feel compelled to buy existing houses even if it is difficult." He added, "There is actually a lot of land available for development in Seoul, such as station areas, low-rise residential areas, and semi-industrial zones. Seoul has 307 subway stations, and if the station area radius is set to 500 meters, it accounts for almost half of Seoul’s total area."

He argued that the current station area radius, which is regulated as 350 meters under urban planning, should be expanded. The government had temporarily expanded the station area radius from the original 250 meters to 350 meters by 2022 to increase housing supply. Byun insisted that this radius should be expanded even further.

Byun emphasized the necessity of the policy, saying, "The current density of station areas is only 160%. If it is close to a station, shouldn’t the floor area ratio be increased by more than 300%?" However, he added, "When developing, there should be social consensus on how to share development profits. It does not necessarily have to be done by the public sector; even if the private sector develops, if development profits are shared socially, it might solve the housing supply problem that no one has been able to solve without raising housing prices."

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