Lee Jae-myung: "I will enact a Special Act for Aging New Towns... Easing Regulations on Reconstruction and Remodeling"

Targeting Voter Sentiment at Campaign Rally in Anyang, Gyeonggi
Promises of New Town-Specific Transportation and Reinvestment of Development Profits

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Junyi Park and Youngwon Kim] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, announced plans to enact a "Special Act on Aging New Towns" focused on reconstruction and remodeling in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, one of the first-generation new towns.

On the 20th, during a campaign rally in Anyang, Gyeonggi, Lee said, "I also live in the Bundang New Town in Seongnam. The buildings are cracked, leaking, pipes are all rotten, and it's unbearable," adding, "I will create a special new town law to properly remodel these areas so people can live comfortably in good homes." This appears to be aimed at appealing to voters residing in Gyeonggi and new town areas.

He promised to relax the safety inspection standards for reconstruction and the safety review criteria for remodeling. He also announced plans to replace existing buildings with '5th generation advanced apartments' that implement a multi-functional residential system enabling work, life, and leisure through home offices, housetels, and home gyms. Additionally, he proposed introducing four types of general residential zones to increase floor area ratios up to 500% and designating special architectural zones to support the creation of cutting-edge residential complexes.

He further stated, "We will introduce customized new transportation modes for each new town to transform them into advanced future cities," supporting the introduction of new transportation means such as trams, drones, and urban air mobility, as well as implementing smart traffic control and security systems.

He also presented ideas to solve the 'bed town problem' of first-generation new towns. He explained, "By changing the zoning of major station areas, we will create growth hubs where residential, commercial, and industrial uses coexist, and establish facilities to support startups and ventures."

He pledged to recoup development profits and reinvest them in balanced development of new towns. The plan includes using profits from high-density development around station areas to renovate aging urban infrastructure and allocating half of the increased floor area ratio to basic housing for young people and other non-homeowning citizens.

To prevent existing tenants from being displaced during reconstruction, he said long-term tenants will be granted housing subscription rights and rental housing admission rights to support their resettlement.

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