Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Illegal Activities in Development Restriction Zones... 63 Cases Detected

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of illegal activities within the development-restricted zones.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 10th that from May 24 to June 4, they investigated 300 suspicious sites within development-restricted zones across the province and detected 63 cases of unauthorized construction, illegal change of use, land alteration, and other violations, leading to criminal charges.

The breakdown of violations is as follows: ▲ 28 cases (44%) of unauthorized illegal construction ▲ 19 cases (30%) of illegal change of use of buildings for purposes different from those permitted ▲ 13 cases (21%) of illegal land alteration such as unauthorized forest damage or earth cutting and filling ▲ 3 cases (5%) of unauthorized dumping of waste and other materials.

In a major case, Mr. G in Goyang City obtained permission only to store containers on miscellaneous land but installed 118 containers and illegally operated a warehouse rental business, charging monthly rents of 160,000 to 200,000 KRW per container. It was revealed that Mr. G embezzled between 220 million and 280 million KRW in unfair profits over one year.

Mr. N in Hwaseong City is accused of illegally altering land by cutting down 9,200㎡ of forest?1.3 times the size of a soccer field?and installing structures without permission in 2018, causing large-scale forest damage.

Mr. D in Namyangju City was caught after illegally changing the use of 996㎡, originally permitted in March 2020 for facilities related to flora and fauna, into a logistics warehouse.

Mr. R in Goyang City was caught operating a scrap yard on his farmland without permission and illegally dumping approximately 1,000㎥ of waste.

The Special Judicial Police Unit has filed criminal charges against all these offenders and plans to request administrative sanctions from the relevant city and county authorities. They also intend to continue investigations to eradicate illegal activities and unfair practices within development-restricted zones.

According to the current "Special Measures Act on the Designation and Management of Development-Restricted Zones," anyone who constructs buildings or changes their use, alters land, or stacks objects without permission or in violation of the permit may face imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW. If the illegal acts are committed for profit or habitually, the penalty increases to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.

Yoon Tae-wan, head of the Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "Eradicating unfair practices within development-restricted zones is of great public interest as it prevents disorderly urban expansion and preserves the natural environment. We plan to continue related investigations and will strongly respond to habitual offenders in cooperation with relevant departments in cities and counties."

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