Mayor Shin Sangjin: "Will Fight to the End with Residents for Withdrawal of Bundang Reconstruction Quota Restrictions"

Seongnam City Directly Refutes Ministry’s September 26 Statement
"Carryover Restriction Effectively Applies Only to Seongnam City... Disadvantages Concentrated on Bundang"
Conflict Intensifies Between Seongnam City and Ministry Over Maintenance Quotas

On September 26, Seongnam City (Mayor Shin Sangjin) strongly refuted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's recent explanatory statement, which claimed that "the assertion that only Seongnam City faces restrictions on the carryover of designated maintenance zones is not true." The city argued that this statement distorts the facts and is a one-sided claim.

Seongnam City Hall exterior. Provided by Seongnam City

The city stated that the essence of the issue is that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is, in effect, imposing disadvantages that apply solely to Seongnam City. The city presented specific points of contention to support its rebuttal.

First, in response to the Ministry's claim that "the carryover restriction is not applied only to Seongnam City," the city pointed out that "this is mere wordplay." Both Seongnam City and Goyang City reflected the relevant content in their master plans, but in reality, only Seongnam City will be subject to immediate restrictions next year if it is not allocated excess quotas. In contrast, Goyang City has a large surplus of quotas, so even if the same restriction is imposed, it has no impact there. As a result, the regulation is effectively concentrated on Seongnam City.

The city further explained, "Even if the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport formally states that the restriction applies to all, at this point in time, Seongnam City is the only one actually affected. Therefore, in practice, the regulation is focused solely on Seongnam City."

Additionally, regarding the Ministry's claim that "the master plan was established by Seongnam City itself" based on the wording in the city's master plan, Seongnam City countered that "the relevant wording was included at the Ministry's request in June, but it refers to the 'permitted maintenance volume' at the time of management disposition, which is unrelated to the designation stage of maintenance zones." The city argued that "the Ministry is distorting the meaning."

Seongnam City asserted, "The maintenance volume mentioned in this wording refers to the 'permitted maintenance volume' at the time of management disposition, which is a management concept for adjusting housing supply at the relocation stage, not at the stage of designating maintenance zones."

The city also pointed out that, until recently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had been in ongoing discussions with Seongnam City about the target volume and selection methods for maintenance zone designations in 2026. The city argued that it is inconsistent for the Ministry to now suddenly shift responsibility to Seongnam City on the grounds of the carryover restriction.

Regarding the Ministry's claim that "Seongnam City presented the pilot district competition criteria and the combination of zones without sufficient consultation," the city responded that "the Ministry asserts that Seongnam City added the combination of zones that are separated from the evaluation criteria for the pilot district competition without sufficient consultation."

However, the city emphasized that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport led the entire process, including the competition schedule and the presentation of standard evaluation criteria. At a review meeting hosted by the Ministry on June 17, 2024, the Ministry advised that 'if necessary, the competition agency may establish and evaluate its own evaluation items.' In reality, Seongnam City established the criteria through multiple consultations with the Ministry, and both the procedures and content were shared with the Ministry throughout the process.

Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, "This explanatory statement from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport distorts the facts and is merely an attempt to shift responsibility onto Seongnam City." He emphasized, "The Ministry should acknowledge that the September 26 measure effectively concentrates disadvantages solely on Seongnam City and should withdraw the 'restriction on the volume of designated maintenance zones' in order to ensure the rational advancement of maintenance projects."

He added, "If such measures are not withdrawn, we will fight to the end together with the residents of Bundang until the quota restrictions are lifted."

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