Ahn Cheol-soo Proposes 'Bill No. 1'... 'Special Act on 1st and 2nd Phase New Towns'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 7th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, proposed the "Special Act on Support for the Regeneration of Aged New Towns (Special Act on Aged New Towns)" and its subsidiary bill, the "Partial Amendment to the Housing and Urban Fund Act."

This law aims to ease regulations on remodeling, reconstruction, and redevelopment of 1st and 2nd generation new towns, establish measures to improve metropolitan transportation, improve residential environments, and create industrial and cultural infrastructure. It is the first bill of the 21st National Assembly proposed by Ahn, who entered the National Assembly through the June 1 by-election, and it was also his campaign pledge for the by-election in the Seongnam Bundang-gap constituency.

The main contents include ▲ stipulating the responsibility of the state and local governments to establish support projects for the regeneration of aged new towns and designating urban regeneration promotion districts ▲ establishing a subcommittee for aged new town regeneration projects within the special committee of the Urban Regeneration Act without setting up a separate special committee ▲ establishing basic and implementation plans to support the regeneration of aged new towns ▲ establishing metropolitan transportation improvement measures for regeneration promotion districts of aged new towns ▲ allowing city and provincial governors to establish implementation plans involving changes in land use zones ▲ and installing special provisions to ease building regulations.

Unlike previously proposed bills that stipulate the establishment of an "Urban Regeneration Special Committee" chaired by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, this special law places an "Aged New Town Regeneration Project Subcommittee" within the Urban Regeneration Special Committee under the Urban Regeneration Act to accelerate project progress.

To support funding from the Housing and Urban Fund, Ahn also proposed the "Partial Amendment to the Housing and Urban Fund Act" on the premise of the special law's approval. Ahn stated, "The 1st and 2nd generation new towns were created by the government for regional balanced development and dispersal of the metropolitan population, and they are cities with policy effectiveness and public nature, but they are deteriorating into bedroom towns with insufficient self-sustaining functions. We will not only enact the special law but also take follow-up measures to enhance the future value of aged new towns such as Bundang and Pangyo and make them cities where people want to live."

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