Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker, welcomed the Ministry of National Defense's decision to ease height restrictions in the Yatap and Imae areas.
On the 29th, in a Facebook post, Ahn said, "As the Ministry of National Defense announced changes to the flight safety zone near Seoul Air Base as of the 29th, height restrictions in parts of Yatap and Imae have been eased," adding, "It will serve as an important opportunity to improve the business viability of old housing redevelopment projects and restore residents' property rights."
The Ministry of National Defense announced changes to the flight safety zone near Seoul Air Base that day. According to Ahn's office, the move eased height restrictions for a total of 11 apartment complexes, including Topmaeul Seonkyung and Daewoo, Areummaeul Taeyoung, Konyoung, Hanseong, Doosan, Samho, Punglim, Seonkyung, Hyosung, and Imaechon Jinhung. These complexes were reclassified from Flight Safety Zone 2 to Zone 6, and based on a floor height of 3 meters, the allowable building height increased by the equivalent of 5 floors to as many as 21 floors compared with previous limits.
Ahn, whose constituency is Bundang-gap, has worked to ease height restrictions, including by sponsoring on the 14th the lead bill to amend the Act on the Protection of Military Bases and Installations to rationally improve height limit standards near military airfields. The core of the amendment is to change the reference point for building height regulations from the lowest point of the ground surface to the highest point so that residents in sloped areas are not subject to unreasonable regulations.
Ahn also personally visited the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, to meet with Chairperson Sakittano and request prompt revision and enforcement of height restriction regulations. "This easing of height restrictions is the first outcome reflecting residents' long-standing aspirations," Ahn said, adding, "We will continue to work closely with government ministries and international organizations to achieve reasonable institutional improvements and regional development."