Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, Says "Development Restrictions Hinder Regional Progress"

Announcement of Government Proposal for Improvement of Development Restriction Zone System in Bu-Ul-Gyeong

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “The metropolitan area is overcrowded, and local regions are on the brink of extinction. Regulating these areas as Greenbelt zones even now is an obstacle to regional development.”

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, said this on the 20th at the Tongyeong International Music Hall during a joint petition event for the improvement of the Greenbelt system in the three cities and provinces of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong).

At the event, Governor Park signed and announced a joint petition for the improvement of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Greenbelt system together with Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, and Kim Doo-gyeom, Mayor of Ulsan.

About 20 people attended the event, including the three governors, planning and coordination officers of Bu-Ul-Gyeong, responsible directors, and affiliated research institute officials.

According to Gyeongnam Province, while the Greenbelt zones have had positive effects such as preventing indiscriminate urban sprawl and preserving the environment, there has been a continuous need for their release due to abnormal development in local areas and obstruction to regional development.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to collect opinions on the improvement of the Greenbelt system until the end of February this year.

Accordingly, the three cities and provinces of Bu-Ul-Gyeong and research institutes have held a total of four working-level meetings since December last year to jointly prepare the petition.

Ulsan Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom, Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su, and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon are signing and unveiling a joint government proposal for the improvement of the development restriction zone system in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

As of the end of 2021, the province explained that among the nationwide Greenbelt zones totaling 3,795.9㎢, Bu-Ul-Gyeong accounts for 979.9㎢, the second largest after the metropolitan area’s 1,365.3㎢, representing a high proportion.

In particular, Gyeongnam Province added that among small and medium-sized urban areas nationwide, only the Changwon area still has 296.9㎢ of Greenbelt zones remaining, leading to continuous demands for release due to fairness issues with other small and medium-sized urban areas and resident inconveniences.

The three governors of Bu-Ul-Gyeong requested either a full release of the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Greenbelt zones or a complete transfer of the authority to release them.

If a full release or full transfer of authority is difficult immediately, they petitioned for a significant expansion of the total Greenbelt area and a substantial relaxation of the standards for release and activity permits.

They also specifically proposed systematic management plans for local governments, including re-investigation and selective conservation management of environmental evaluation grade 1-2 areas, introduction of a green total volume system by zone, implementation and management of land suitability evaluation, introduction of urban growth boundaries, and strengthening the public nature of Greenbelt release projects.

Gyeongnam Province plans to actively advocate for the release of Bu-Ul-Gyeong Greenbelt zones by directly visiting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport together with Busan and Ulsan to deliver the joint petition.

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is speaking at the joint proposal event for the improvement of the development restriction zone system in the three cities and provinces of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Governor Park said, “To develop in response to the metropolitan area, the three cities and provinces of Bu-Ul-Gyeong have decided to unite their efforts for the release of Greenbelt zones,” adding, “Through this announcement of the petition to the government, we will continue to strive for the release of Greenbelt zones to prevent local extinction and contribute positively to regional development.”