The 3rd Basic Plan for Building Policy Confirmed... Carbon Emissions Down 25%, Construction Industry Up 240 Trillion

Report on the '3rd Basic Plan for Architectural Policy (2021-2025)' at the Cabinet Meeting on the 16th
Improving Public Satisfaction, Reducing Carbon Emissions by 25%, Expanding the Construction Industry to 240 Trillion Won
Mandatory Zero-Energy Buildings for Private Structures Starting in 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] From 2025, zero-energy construction will be mandatory for private buildings. Through this, carbon emissions from the building sector will be reduced by 25% by 2025. Additionally, the domestic construction industry scale will be expanded to 240 trillion won.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 16th that it reported and finalized the "3rd Basic Plan for Construction Policy (2021~2025)" at the Cabinet meeting presided over by the President. The Basic Plan for Construction Policy is a mid- to long-term plan in the construction field established to create excellent buildings and spatial environments, serving as the highest-level construction policy plan that forms the foundation for regional basic construction plans.

This Basic Plan for Construction Policy set the vision of "Architecture that enhances the value of everyday life, a city where life is happy" to realize the public nature of architecture. It also prepared specific action tasks according to three major goals: improving citizens' living spaces, creating sustainable carbon-neutral cities, and securing national competitiveness.

Specifically, to improve living spaces, the plan aims to innovate public architecture through the enactment of the Public Architecture Special Act to create beautiful and convenient everyday spaces, and to promote architectural culture through asset management and awareness education. Furthermore, the integrated urban-architecture design applied in the 3rd New Town will be expanded nationwide to create harmonious urban and architectural spaces.

To respond to carbon neutrality by 2050, the plan intends to improve the energy performance of buildings, including the "mandatory zero-energy construction for private buildings from 2025," to reduce carbon emissions from the building sector by 25% by 2025. For public buildings, the application target will expand from buildings over 1,000㎡ to those over 500㎡ starting in 2023, and in 2025, it will apply to private buildings over 1,000㎡. From 2030, all new buildings over 500㎡ must be designed as zero-energy buildings.

In addition, to create sustainable and safe cities, the plan includes strengthening building safety performance, expanding regional building safety centers nationwide, and renovating old and idle spaces.

To secure national competitiveness, the plan aims to expand the construction industry scale to 240 trillion won by enhancing capabilities such as improving the quality of small-scale construction. It also plans to reduce costs and time required in the construction process by establishing user-centered construction administration and systems. In response to the 4th Industrial Revolution, the plan will promote smart construction linked with smart cities and BIM to enable citizens to use buildings more conveniently and comfortably.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Construction Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This basic plan reflects opinions submitted through the idea contest and includes key tasks such as construction safety and green buildings, which will greatly contribute to improving the quality of life for citizens," adding, "We will evaluate performance every two years and faithfully implement the basic plan."

Meanwhile, the 3rd Basic Plan for Construction Policy was established after broad public consultation as it deals with architecture and urban spaces that determine the quality of human life and happiness. Dedicated task forces (TFs) composed of experts were formed for nine major issues in the construction field to derive action tasks, and surveys targeting the general public and experts were conducted to discover construction policies desired by citizens.

Notably, for the first time in the process of establishing the Basic Plan for Construction Policy, a national construction policy idea contest was held, reflecting ideas directly proposed by citizens in the plan. Subsequently, public hearings and consultations with related ministries were held to form sufficient consensus on the plan, which was then submitted to the Cabinet meeting after deliberation by the National Construction Policy Committee and finalized.

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