Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special Mayor, Requests Minister Won Heeryong to Lift Development Restrictions in Changwon Area

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, proposed to Won Heeryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, on the 19th to “completely lift the development restriction zone in the Changwon area, which occupies 33.2% of the administrative district in the city center and restricts urban development and residents' rights.”

On this day, Mayor Hong told Minister Won, “Changwon is the only basic local government with a development restriction zone, resulting in unequal regulations. As three cities merged into one, the development restriction zone, which was located on the outskirts, has become a distorted urban form located in the city center,” adding, “As a result, the original purpose of designating the development restriction zone to prevent urban sprawl has been lost.”

He added, “Due to these unequal regulations, Changwon Special City lacks developable land, making it difficult to promptly promote national projects and local issues, which negatively affects urban development.”

In response, Minister Won replied, “The Ministry of Land will thoroughly review this matter from a practical standpoint.”

On the 19th, Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, proposed to Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the complete lifting of the development restriction zone in the Changwon area.

Along with this, the city also revealed management plans following the complete lifting of the development restriction zone. Even if the zone is fully lifted, about three-quarters (75.8%) of the development restriction zone has slopes of 18° or more, making development impossible, and the city plans to continuously prepare management measures to address environmental concerns.

The city’s management plan for the fully lifted area includes continuous management of conservation and development suitability through a three-dimensional land suitability evaluation, and minimizing green space reduction by introducing a total green space system. Additionally, the city plans to introduce an urban growth boundary to continuously distinguish between conservation and development areas in the lifted zone, guiding urban growth. Furthermore, the city intends to carry out planned management through the basic urban plan, living zone plan, and urban management plan.

By completely lifting the development restriction zone, the city can secure developable land in a timely manner, strengthen regional competitiveness, resolve the disconnection of urban spatial structure, achieve not only balanced urban development but also national balanced development, and prevent environmental damage and indiscriminate development through planned management of the fully lifted area.

Above all, it was emphasized that this will greatly contribute to improving the rights and alleviating the inconveniences of residents who have suffered unequal land use regulations for half a century despite not being part of the metropolitan or wide-area regions.

Mayor Hong stated, “We will continue to make our best efforts to propose to the government, together with local lawmakers, Gyeongnam Province, and the provincial and city councils, for the complete lifting of the development restriction zone in the Changwon area, which has become unequal due to regulations.”

Meanwhile, Kim Youngseon, a member of the National Assembly, also joined Mayor Hong’s visit to the Ministry of Land on this day to support the proposal for the complete lifting of the development restriction zone in the Changwon area.

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