Housing supply using unused school land is expected to gain speed. The government announced in the Sept. 7 measures that it would supply dwellings by redeveloping school land in city centers into mixed-use sites, but prolonged consultations among related agencies and low project profitability made it difficult to actually use unused school land for dwellings. Because of this, the National Assembly and the government enacted a special act to support mixed-use development of school land, expanding the authority to lift the designation of school land from local government heads to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and granting special provisions to improve project profitability. Thirteen school sites in the greater Seoul area, including Seoul, have now been put forward as candidates for mixed-use development, and roughly 4,000 dwellings are expected to be supplied.
According to the National Assembly's bill information system and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 26th, Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced a bill titled the Special Act to Support Mixed-use Development of School Land. Lee said, "Most school land is located in city centers, so it has significant potential for mixed-use development in terms of dwellings supply and improving urban functions," explaining the background for introducing the special act.
The special act to support mixed-use development of school land is intended to contribute to the supply of dwellings in city centers by promoting development projects using school land in a systematic and efficient manner. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced in last year's Sept. 7 measures that it would push to enact a special act for mixed-use development of unused school land for dwellings supply, leading to the bill's introduction about four months later. At the time, MOLIT proposed to redevelop schools in city centers, unused school land, and closed school sites into public dwellings, educational facilities, and social overhead capital (SOC) on a mixed-use basis, and to begin construction of 3,000-plus dwellings in the greater Seoul area by 2030.
The special act allows the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to designate unused school land as candidate sites for mixed-use development projects. Each year, the MOLIT Minister may review materials such as the status of school land use submitted by provincial governors or superintendents of education and, if necessary, draw up a basic plan for mixed-use development projects and select candidate sites. Previously, this authority was granted only to local government heads. As a result, when disagreements arose with local governments or offices of education, attempts to develop unused school land often drifted in prolonged consultations.
The special act also includes the establishment within MOLIT of a School Land Mixed-use Development Review Committee to deliberate on matters related to selecting candidate sites and the validity of basic plans. The act contains provisions granting special measures to shorten procedures and improve the profitability of mixed-use development projects on school land.
A MOLIT official said, "Previously, lifting the designation of school land was the authority of local governments, which sometimes caused delays, so this special act includes a plan to grant permitting authority to the MOLIT Minister," adding, "We also allowed special measures such as excluding the application of the price-cap system on sales (Bunsangje) and granting special provisions for land supply to improve project profitability."
If the special act passes, development projects using school land are expected to accelerate. If unused school land is used to supply public dwellings, dwellings can be supplied quickly in city centers where infrastructure is already in place. MOLIT currently has listed 13 unused school sites in the greater Seoul area, including Seoul, as candidate sites for development. If all of these are developed, 4,550 dwellings can be supplied.
A MOLIT official said, "We are currently reviewing about 13 unused school sites as candidate locations, but we cannot disclose specific areas," adding, "We are conducting a study on the mixed-use development of idle school land in city centers, and it has not yet been decided whether it will be included in the supply measures to be announced around the Lunar New Year holiday."