'Re-designation' of Land Transaction Permission Zones Including Geumnam-myeon, Sejong City

Sejong City will re-designate areas including Geumnam-myeon as land transaction permission zones.

On the 24th, Sejong City announced that it has decided to extend the designation period of the land transaction permission zone covering 19 villages including Yongpo-ri in Geumnam-myeon, spanning 38.39㎢, for two years until May 30, 2025.

Land Transaction Permission Zone Redesignation Map of Geumnam-myeon. Provided by Sejong City

The designation period for the land transaction permission zone in Yongpo-ri, Geumnam-myeon, and other areas is set to expire on the 30th of this month. Sejong City decided to re-designate the area after deliberation by the Urban Planning Committee to prevent the lifting of the designation from leading to speculative land price surges.

Previously, since 1990, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport managed Geumnam-myeon and nearby Daejeon areas as a metropolitan land transaction permission zone.

In 2020, the authority to designate permission zones in Geumnam-myeon was transferred to Sejong City, which re-designated the land transaction permission zone for two years in 2021. The re-designation period is until the 30th of this month.

However, due to growing expectations for large-scale national projects such as the construction of the Happy City, the establishment of the National Assembly Sejong Office, the KTX Sejong Station, and metropolitan railroads, the possibility of further land price increases has risen, leading Sejong City to re-designate Geumnam-myeon and surrounding areas as land transaction permission zones again.

With the re-designation, within the permission zone, land exceeding certain area thresholds by land use type must be acquired only after obtaining prior approval for the land transaction contract, as is currently required. Contracts made without approval are invalid.

Land acquired with approval must be used according to the approved purpose for a mandatory period: 2 years for residential use, 2 years for agriculture, forestry, and livestock use, 4 years for development projects, and 5 years for other uses. If the land is not used as approved within the specified period, a compliance penalty (up to 10% of the acquisition price) will be imposed.

A Sejong City official stated, “The re-designation of the land transaction permission zone in Geumnam-myeon and other areas is expected to block speculative purchases by outsiders and stabilize the local real estate market.”