The government will launch a 'fast-track permit support center' within the year to shorten the permit approval period for construction projects. With a shorter approval period, it is expected that the initial uncertainties of development projects will be alleviated, leading to increased investment and reduced financial costs.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold the first public-private task force meeting in the afternoon on the 10th to discuss the installation of the 'fast-track permit support center.'
Since March, the Ministry has been preparing operational plans for the fast-track permit support center by collecting actual cases of permit delays through research services and analyzing the reasons for the delays. This is due to increased financial costs and rising sales prices caused by uncertainties in permit approvals and subsequent project delays.
The meeting will be attended by private experts with extensive experience in permit approvals, industry stakeholders, and association representatives. They will share issues related to the practices of permit approvals and cases of delays in the field, and are expected to present various opinions on effective operational plans for the support center.
In the process of gathering opinions from the field, there have been many criticisms regarding arbitrary interpretations of laws by local governments, conflicts in opinions within the same local government, and permit delays or denials due to the lack of similar cases. For example, there have been instances of project delays occurring when a traffic processing plan inconsistent with the traffic impact assessment results passed before construction review was requested after the review was concluded. Additionally, there are cases where a project approval was rejected by the basic local government even after the integrated review was completed by the metropolitan local government.
There are also concerns that when public officials at local governments exercise discretion in the absence of specific interpretations or guidelines from central ministries, it could lead to allegations of favoritism or audit issues, ultimately resulting in unavoidable permit delays.
Reflecting these opinions, the Ministry plans for the fast-track permit support center to provide as specific interpretations as possible in order to alleviate the burden on permit officials and, if necessary, to directly mediate disputes among local government businesses. Additionally, monitoring shadow regulations, such as arbitrary interpretations of laws, and implementing institutional improvements will also be conducted.
Moreover, once the 'real estate project financing (PF) integrated management system' is established, information regarding the permit approval time required by region will also be disclosed, aiming to induce a reduction in the permit approval period.
Park Jun-hyung, the land policy director at the Ministry, noted, 'Considering the scale of domestic PF, even a one-month reduction in the permit approval period could save more than 300 billion won in financial costs and just reducing the initial uncertainties of permit approvals for development projects can promote increased investment,' adding, 'We plan to launch the fast-track permit support center within the year through research services, public-private task forces, and gathering opinions from local governments.'