Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities Can Now Be Installed Overlappingly Within Greenbelt Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] In the future, hydrogen vehicle and electric vehicle charging facilities will be allowed to be installed redundantly in Greenbelt (GB) areas.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Designation and Management of Greenbelt Areas, which allows the redundant installation of hydrogen fuel supply facilities and automobile electric supply facilities in GB areas to promote carbon neutrality through greenhouse gas reduction, passed the Cabinet meeting on the 29th.

According to this amendment, as a regulatory improvement measure for economic revitalization, it will be possible to install hydrogen vehicle and electric vehicle charging facilities redundantly to expand eco-friendly vehicle charging infrastructure. As of September 30, there were only a total of 22 charging stations in GB areas, with 4 hydrogen vehicle charging stations and 18 electric vehicle charging stations.

Until now, hydrogen vehicle charging facilities and electric vehicle charging facilities in GB areas had to be installed separately, causing difficulties such as site selection and economic burdens related to site acquisition for installing charging facilities.

Accordingly, the government prepared improvement measures through discussions by the Government Policy Coordination Office's Public-Private Joint Regulatory Improvement Promotion Team, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman Support Group, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Regulatory Innovation Task Force.

With the amendment to the Enforcement Decree, charging facilities to be installed in the future can have hydrogen vehicle charging facilities and electric vehicle charging facilities installed redundantly, and hydrogen vehicle charging facilities can also be installed at existing electric vehicle charging facilities.

The site area for hydrogen and electric vehicle charging facilities within the Greenbelt is limited to 3,300㎡ or less.

Additionally, the qualifications for installing flower exhibition and sales facilities within the GB are expanded to agricultural cooperatives and farming association corporations. Previously, flower exhibition and sales facilities in GB areas could be installed by market, county governor, or district office heads, but there were no actual installations, causing a shortage of flower sales channels.

As a regulatory improvement to alleviate inconveniences for citizens and businesses, when GB areas are deregulated due to public interest projects, the imposition of enforcement penalties can be deferred as if relocating to the deregulated GB area.

Until now, enforcement penalties imposed on illegal facilities within GB areas could be deferred if the illegal facilities were relocated to areas where GB was deregulated. However, for illegal facilities in areas scheduled for GB deregulation due to public interest projects, penalties were imposed despite the similarity to relocation to deregulated areas, causing fairness controversies.

In fact, libraries (up to 2,000㎡) can be installed within GB areas, but ancillary facilities such as rest areas were not allowed, causing inconvenience to users. For libraries permitted as local public facilities, simple rest areas can now be installed as ancillary facilities.

Furthermore, the qualifications for installing gas stations, rest areas, and liquefied petroleum gas charging stations within GB areas are also relaxed. Previously, installation qualifications were limited to market, county governor, district office heads, and residents at the time of GB designation. This amendment relaxes the qualifications to allow residents who have lived in the GB for more than 10 years to install gas stations, etc., making it easier to establish facilities for residents' convenience and livelihoods within GB areas.

Soombi Shin, Director of the Green City Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This amendment to the Enforcement Decree is expected to contribute to expanding charging infrastructure for electric and hydrogen vehicles, which are representative industries of carbon neutrality, and to alleviating inconveniences for citizens and businesses. We will continue to improve the location system to manage Greenbelt areas according to their designated purposes while resolving public inconveniences."

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