Gyeonggi-do, 47% of Building Permit and Use Approval in Greenbelt Areas Found to be 'Illegal Activities'

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Among the sites in Gyeonggi Province that received building permit usage approvals within development-restricted zones, approximately 47% were found to have engaged in illegal activities different from their approved usage.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 28th that, following a comprehensive investigation conducted from June 17 to July 12 targeting 164 sites in 21 cities and counties with development-restricted zones that received building permit usage approvals between December last year and May this year, 77 sites were found to have committed illegal acts.

Key cases include a construction material store A located in Ansan City, which was approved for use as a bean sprout cultivation facility related to flora and fauna but was found to have illegally changed its use to a construction material sales and storage warehouse.

A retail store B in Uijeongbu City received approval as an agricultural product storage warehouse but illegally converted one-third of the storage warehouse into a sales facility and conducted unauthorized expansions, resulting in its detection during this crackdown.

A bakery cafe C in Seongnam City was approved as a general restaurant and retail store but illegally changed the retail store into a bakery kitchen and cafe hall classified as a resting food establishment, and also illegally expanded connecting passages to adjacent buildings.

A religious facility D in Yangpyeong County, which was approved as a temple and memorial hall, was found to have illegally changed the temple and bereaved family resting room into a memorial hall and carried out unauthorized expansion construction just four months after approval.

Given the high rate of illegal activities, Gyeonggi Province has mandated that city and county officials conduct on-site inspections during building permit completion inspections before granting usage approvals, and under provincial supervision, special quarterly inspections must be conducted within one year of usage approval.

Kim Su-hyung, Director of the Regional Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We plan to prevent the spread of illegal activities and preserve development-restricted zones by detecting and restoring all illegal acts without exception. In addition to aerial photo analysis and drone enforcement, we conduct special inspections of building permit and enforcement management at least once every six months."