Gyeongnam Province Launches All-Out Effort to Unlock 'Bundled Land'

Leading the Removal of Development Restriction Zones and Improvement of Unreasonable Systems

Huh Dong-sik, Director of the Urban Housing Bureau of Gyeongnam Province, is presenting on the release of development-restricted areas and related system improvement measures. / Photo by Lee Se-ryeong ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Gyeongsangnam-do is lifting restrictions on development-restricted areas within the province and initiating related institutional improvements.

On the 4th, Gyeongnam Province announced in a briefing that it plans to continuously propose improvements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to resolve inconveniences and unreasonable issues faced by residents under the development-restricted area (Greenbelt) system.

According to the province, development-restricted areas are designated in the urban centers of Gyeongnam.

This has caused geographic disconnection, accelerated abnormal urban growth in suburban areas due to fragmented development, and a continuous shortage of available land for fostering and concentrating future-based global industries.

To address these issues, the province explained that it has prepared plans for balanced regional development and planned urban growth management by simultaneously promoting the total amount of possible development-restricted area releases and the complete lifting of development restrictions regardless of development demand, along with rational adjustment measures.

These include ▲expanding the authority to lift development-restricted areas ▲relaxing higher-grade environmental assessment standards ▲increasing the total amount of area to be released ▲and easing restrictions on activities.

It was explained that the Ministry of Land has accepted these proposals and decided to expand the authority of provincial governors to lift development-restricted areas from the current 300,000㎡ to 1,000,000㎡.

Additionally, institutional improvements will be pursued to exclude nationally important strategic projects such as defense and nuclear power industries from the total amount of area to be released when promoted in the region.

Heo Dongsik, Director of the Urban Housing Bureau, said, “We will continuously work in cooperation with administrative bodies such as Gyeongnam, Busan, and Ulsan, and actively collaborate with local lawmakers to protect residents’ property rights, secure the total amount for lifting restrictions on pending projects, transfer practical lifting authority, and ease unreasonable activity restrictions.” He added, “We will continue to actively discover cases for institutional improvement and do our best to create future spaces desired by the residents.”