Disaster Recovery and Relief: Easier Use of 'Gongyujaesan' (Public Property)

Related Enforcement Decree Amendment Passed at Cabinet Meeting
Private Contracts Possible Without Regional Resident Restrictions

The scope of private contracts will be expanded to enable rapid recovery support using public property in the event of a disaster. In addition, the requirements for installment payments of usage fees will be relaxed to reduce the burden on users of public property.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the amendment to the "Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Management of Public Property and Goods," which includes these provisions, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 14th. The amendment is scheduled to be promulgated and take effect immediately in August after the President's approval.

The main points of this amendment are as follows. First, private contracts will be allowed when using public property for disaster recovery and relief purposes.

Currently, it is stipulated that private contracts can be used to permit or lease public property only when local residents affected by natural disasters or other calamities use it temporarily. Because of this, it has been difficult for non-local residents to utilize public property.

The amendment revises this to allow private contracts for permitting or leasing public property for the purpose of "disaster recovery and relief," even if the user is not a local resident, enabling rapid and efficient recovery in the event of a disaster.

Additionally, the requirements for installment payments of public property usage and lease fees will be eased. The principle is that usage and lease fees for public property are to be paid in a lump sum or in advance. Currently, if the amount exceeds 1 million KRW per year, installment payments of up to six times per year are allowed. However, due to recent high inflation and economic downturn, small business owners are facing increased difficulties.

Considering this, to reduce the burden on users, if the usage or lease fee exceeds 500,000 KRW per year, installment payments of up to 12 times per year will be allowed.

Furthermore, the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation (LX) is newly designated as a consigned management agency for general public property. Local governments can entrust professional agencies with the management and disposal of general public property when necessary, but the currently designated agencies have had difficulty meeting the demand of local governments.

Therefore, to strengthen the management of public property, an additional professional agency with work experience and technical expertise has been designated to actively utilize the consigned management system.

Choi Byung-kwan, Director of the Local Finance and Economy Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “We hope that this amendment to the enforcement decree will help with rapid disaster recovery and ease the burden on small business owners,” and added, “We will continue to support the effective and active use of public property for local communities and residents.”

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