Building Larger Advanced Factories Including Semiconductors... Industrial Complex Floor Area Ratio Increased by 1.4 Times

Government Revises Related Laws
Expands Production Facilities and Creates Jobs
Benefits of Relaxed Floor Area Ratio for Rental Housing

The government will increase the floor area ratio (FAR) for related industrial complexes to foster national advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors. Additionally, benefits will be provided to relax the FAR to promote the supply of rental housing.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Planning and Use of National Territory containing these details was approved at the Cabinet meeting.

According to the amendment, when companies make new or expansion investments for national advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors, the FAR of industrial complexes will be increased up to 1.4 times the legal level. For general industrial areas, this means an increase from the existing 350% to 490%.

The area of Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the 'Yongin Semiconductor Cluster' will be established.
[Photo by Yongin-si]

The government expects that through this amendment, it will be possible to quickly expand production facilities when demand for advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors increases. It also anticipates that since about 1,000 workers are needed per semiconductor production facility, this will greatly help create quality jobs.

The procedure for building expansions such as factories will also be simplified. The scope of small-scale expansions exempt from urban planning committee review will be expanded from within 5% of the site area to within 10%, and even when the site is expanded up to 10%, the urban planning committee review will be exempted. By avoiding the urban planning committee review, the approval period can be shortened by more than 60 days.

The amendment also includes FAR relaxation benefits for public rental housing. Previously, both public and private rental housing were granted a 1.2 times FAR relaxation only if the rental obligation period was 8 years or more. Going forward, regardless of the rental obligation period, all public rental housing will receive up to 1.2 times FAR relaxation (from 250% to 300% based on Type 2 General Residential Area). In Seoul, when supplying 100 units, the supply volume is expected to increase by up to 25 units compared to before applying the FAR relaxation.

FAR relaxation will also apply to purchase-agreement rental housing (with a rental obligation period of 5 years or more) that involves purchasing semi-basement houses and reconstructing them as public rental housing. The government plans to improve the residential environment and promote the supply of various types of rental housing tailored to public demand through this measure.

Gil Byeong-woo, Director of Urban Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We will continue to actively improve urban planning-related regulations to enhance the competitiveness of national core industries and improve the quality of life for the people."

Meanwhile, at the same Cabinet meeting, an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Passenger Transport Service Act was also approved. It includes allowing corporate taxis to park overnight outside their garages to promote taxi operation activation, extending the taxi vehicle age limit by 2 years (from 9 to 11 years for private taxis, and from 6 to 8 years for corporate taxis), and relaxing the vehicle age limit for taxis from ‘within 1 year’ after vehicle registration to ‘within 2 years,’ enabling nearly new vehicles to operate as taxis.

Gu Heon-sang, Director of Comprehensive Transportation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Through this amendment, we expect to improve working conditions for corporate taxi drivers and operate the vehicle age system considering regional operational characteristics," adding, "We will continue to discover institutional improvements to enhance public mobility convenience and activate taxi services."