As developable land to build homes in city centers runs short, the government is seeking ways to use privately owned land that has long gone undeveloped and been left idle in urban areas. The aim is to identify obstacles to development and resolve them so the land can be used to supply dwellings. If the halt stems from the land's designated use, the government would support use changes, and if permitting is the bottleneck, it is considering sharing roles with local governments at the permitting level so the land can be tapped for housing development projects, according to the government's plan.
On Jan. 8, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Public Procurement Service's Nara Marketplace, the ministry recently commissioned a research project titled "System improvements to revitalize land use and return development gains."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) commissioned the study to explore ways to utilize privately owned land left undeveloped in city centers, as supplying dwellings in high-demand urban cores is essential for stabilizing the housing market.
First, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will assess the status of privately owned land in city centers where development is delayed. Across urban areas, there are parcels where projects have been halted for long periods due to passive administration by local governments during permitting or for lack of funds.
There are also areas where land designated long ago for certain urban planning facility uses no longer aligns with today's urban environment, but changing the use is difficult or sparks controversy over favoritism, making development hard. Idle sites where development is warranted in light of public interest and housing demand were also included in this MOLIT study's scope.
After identifying such land, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will analyze the legal and administrative constraints that have blocked development and look into support measures to restart it. The ministry plans to devise solutions for constraints such as urban planning and zoning regulations, permitting procedures, and the burden of contributed acceptance of infrastructure.
In particular, to address cases where land development is halted due to passive administration by local governments, which hold permitting authority, the government will consider options to divide roles between the central government and local governments for permitting and related tasks.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "We want to gauge how widespread land is where development has been halted for a long time or is difficult under current conditions, and to identify what systems are needed to spur land development."
However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said this research is only an initial review to support system improvements and is not included in the additional supply measures to be announced this month. A ministry official noted, "This does not mean it will be reflected in measures to be announced immediately or that we are launching any specific project."
In this study, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will also review ways to promote land development by improving the system for returning real estate development gains. Because laws governing development gains vary, the scope of recoupment differs among developers, the central government, and local governments, sometimes causing projects to stall, and the ministry plans to draw improvements through this research.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "Under the Development Gains Recapture Act, recoupment of development gains is carried out by paying development charges or, under a local government ordinance, through public contributions via contributed acceptance," adding, "However, because the laws governing (recoupment of development gains) are varied, views also differ on the scope of recoupment." The official said, "We want to see how (recoupment of development gains) can be managed comprehensively," explaining, "For example, contributed acceptance and development charges are defined differently, and we want to study whether there is a need to manage them under an overarching framework."