"Exempt Local Governments from National Property Usage Fees"... Seoul City Requests Regulatory Reform from Government

Establishing a Legal Basis for Free Use of National Property for Public Purposes

Expanding Local Government Autonomy for the Long-Term Jeonse Housing Program "Mirinae Jip"

Proposal to Reflect Regional Characteristics in Uniform Public Housing Subsidy Unit Prices

Seoul City requested the government to amend the Enforcement Decree of the State Property Act to allow exemptions from usage fees when national property is utilized for public purposes. Currently, when a local government, rather than the state, uses national property, usage fees must be paid.

On March 26, Seoul City announced that it had submitted this proposal to the government to address unreasonable issues arising in the field and to enhance the autonomy of local governments.

Seoul City requested the government to improve various regulations, including allowing exemption from usage fees when using national property for public interest purposes. Seoul City

This proposal includes a total of four items: establishing a legal basis for free use to strengthen cooperation between central and local governments in the use of public and national property; amending the law to expand the supply of the long-term jeonse housing program "Mirinae Jip"; updating public rental housing subsidy criteria to reflect actual conditions; and easing restrictions on installing permanent structures along riverbanks.

Currently, under the Public Property and Commodity Management Act, the state can use local government-owned public property for public purposes free of charge. However, under the State Property Act, when a local government uses national property for the same purpose, usage fees are imposed.

This imbalance increases the financial burden on local governments and acts as an obstacle when they attempt to promote public projects such as parks. The city expects that alleviating the excessive financial burden on local governments will help prevent administrative inefficiency caused by conflicts between the central and local governments.

Seoul City also proposed amending the relevant laws for "Mirinae Jip," a long-term jeonse housing program established to address the low birth rate crisis. Under the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Public Housing, the "detailed criteria for eligibility of rental housing tenants" currently allow the mayor or other officials to set the ratio of priority supply recipients within a maximum of 50% of total supply, which makes it difficult to actively expand supply to meet the rapidly increasing demand from newlyweds and others.

Accordingly, the city has proposed to the government to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Public Housing so that city and provincial governors can autonomously determine the detailed criteria for rental housing tenants based on demand. If amending the Enforcement Decree is difficult, the city also requested that the ratio of priority supply recipients be raised from the current 50% to 70% via amendments to the enforcement rules of the same law.

Seoul City expects that if the ratio for selecting priority supply recipients is relaxed, the stable residential environment for newlywed households without homes will improve, and the policy's effectiveness in overcoming the low birth rate will be continuously enhanced.

To enable the rapid supply of high-quality public rental housing, the city also proposed improvements to public rental housing subsidy unit prices. This year, the city aims to supply about 23,000 public rental housing units to overcome the low birth rate and restore the housing ladder. However, the government’s unit price for public rental housing subsidies (land cost + construction cost) is applied uniformly nationwide, which increases the financial burden on municipalities with high land costs.

In fact, as of 2025, the average land price in Seoul is 7 million won per square meter, 28 times higher than the national average of about 250,000 won. Despite this disparity, the unit price for public rental housing subsidies does not take into account the differences in land prices among local governments. The city expects that making the unit price more realistic will lead to a faster supply of high-quality public rental housing.

Additionally, the city proposed regulatory adjustments related to river management to the government. Under the current River Act, it is prohibited to install permanent structures using materials such as concrete within river zones. Despite rising public demand and expectations for various cultural and leisure activities on rivers, it is currently difficult to install permanent facilities such as convenience facilities or rest areas that reflect these needs.

Accordingly, Seoul City requested the government to amend the Enforcement Decree of the River Act to switch from a complete ban to a system of limited permission, allowing the installation of permanent structures in riverside spaces when they do not interfere with river management and water safety is ensured.

Lee Junhyung, Director of Regulatory Innovation Planning at Seoul City, stated, "True regulatory innovation is about flexibly improving regulations that are uniformly applied by respecting the intent of existing systems while reflecting the reality and local conditions of local governments," and added, "We will continue to closely cooperate with the central government to find reasonable alternatives."

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