The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will be able to directly designate parts of areas within the same city or province as land transaction permit zones going forward. The designation authority was expanded so the central government can respond more quickly when speculative transactions occur locally and spread rapidly to surrounding areas.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 21st that six bills to establish or revise laws that can speed up the plan to expand the supply of dwellings, released in the Sept. 7 real estate measures, including a revision to the Act on Report of Real Estate Transaction, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th.
Under the current Act on Report of Real Estate Transaction, the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) faces limits on the scope for designating land transaction permit zones, making an immediate response difficult even if speculation concerns grow in specific areas within the same city or province. However, the revised law allows the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to designate parts of areas within the same city or province as land transaction permit zones.
However, when the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) designates a land transaction permit zone within the same city or province, prior consultation with the mayor or provincial governor is mandatory. The revised Act on Report of Real Estate Transaction is scheduled to take effect three months after promulgation.
At the plenary session that day, bills to expand the supply of dwellings were also handled together. With the passage of the Special Act on Complex Development of Old Public Office Buildings and Others, a framework is put in place to complex-develop old public office buildings in urban areas into public housing and living convenience facilities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will annually identify the status of old public office buildings that are 30 years or more after completion, and establish an implementation plan that includes candidate sites and business methods. To expedite project implementation, the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will streamline permitting procedures by using the integrated deliberation committee under the Special Act on Public Housing.
The School Site Complex Development Act, which develops school sites and closed school sites that have not been used for a long period due to a decline in the school-age population into dwellings and living SOC, also passed. For small idle school sites of about 10,000㎡, procedures such as omitting the designation process for public housing districts can shorten the project process.
Under the revision to the Special Act on Public Housing, the sunset deadline for the urban public housing complex project, which was set to end at the end of this year, is extended by three years to the end of 2029. A "restructuring project" to convert non-housing public development land that has not been utilized for a long period into land for public housing has also been institutionalized. Some procedures of the strategic environmental impact assessment will be omitted, and a council to coordinate differences among related agencies will be newly established.
The Housing Act revision eases the cap on the number of units for urban-style studio dwellings in quasi-residential, commercial, and industrial areas from fewer than 300 units to fewer than 500 units, and allows up to fewer than 700 units in station areas by local government ordinance.
The system for regional housing cooperatives will also be improved. While strengthening the requirement for reporting member recruitment from the current 50% land use rights to 80% or more of land sale contracts, the district unit plan must be established first. The standard for securing land ownership, a requirement for applying for project plan approval, will be eased from 95% to 80% or more.
In addition, a new Vacant Building Maintenance Act will be created to integrate the management of dwellings left unattended for one year or more, unused non-housing, and buildings with construction suspended. For vacant buildings with safety issues, local governments can order demolition, and if the owner does not comply or cannot be identified, they can carry out demolition ex officio.