[Public Voices] Administration Means Loosening Regulations to Make Things Happen

Seongsoo Jeon, Seocho District Mayor. Provided by Seocho District Office.

A sailing ship, made up of sails and ropes, moves forward powered by the wind. To set sail, you must pull the ropes taut to raise the sails, but during the voyage, there are times when you need to loosen the ropes to catch the wind. Administration is no different. There always comes a moment when, in order to smoothly navigate the winds of people’s livelihoods, you must untie the tightly bound ropes.

At the end of last year, one of the ropes tightly binding the reconstruction areas in Seocho District was loosened. This was due to the enforcement of the revised “Soil Environment Conservation Act Enforcement Rules.” The “fluoride soil contamination concern threshold” was relaxed, significantly reducing the burden on local residents and businesses. While fluoride is a legally regulated substance that is useful in daily life and industry?such as in toothpaste?it can cause side effects when humans are excessively exposed. If fluoride exceeding the standard is found in the soil, the responsible business operator is obligated to remediate the soil.

This regulation is essential to balance environmental protection and development. However, the previous standard was nearly ten times stricter than those in the United States or Japan. It was also criticized as unreasonable because it did not take into account the geological characteristics of Korea, where most soil naturally contains high levels of fluoride due to granite bedrock. The fluoride regulation has long been an obstacle in reconstruction areas such as Bangbae-dong. If fluoride contamination is detected during reconstruction, it can take several years and significant costs for detailed soil surveys and remediation work. For example, Bangbae District 5 faced a delay in groundbreaking due to soil remediation costs of approximately 75 billion won, while Bangbae District 6 struggled with about 40 billion won in remediation expenses.

For the past two years, Seocho District has voiced the need to ease fluoride regulations in response to residents’ opinions. By visiting the Ministry of Environment and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, submitting proposals to ministers, and sending official documents, we communicated the difficulties faced at reconstruction sites and called for reasonable regulatory relaxation. Even during the legislative notice period, we submitted additional opinions to the Ministry of Environment together with reconstruction sites such as Bangbae Districts 13 and 15, as well as the Court Administration Office, which is preparing for the Seoul Court Annex 2. After persistent effort, we were able to achieve a legislative revision that rationalized the fluoride standards. In particular, the standard for residential areas was relaxed by a factor of two, offering significant relief. In Bangbae District 13, the cost of fluoride remediation within the maintenance area was reduced to about one-tenth, and in five areas?including Bangbae Sindonga and Banpo Districts 1, 2, and 4?remediation orders were waived altogether.

Now, let’s turn our attention to Yangjae-dong. Here, expectations are rising due to the lifting of regulations. In November last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups designated the Yangjae and Umyeon-dong area as an “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Special Zone,” applying six regulatory exemptions, including those related to the Patent Act and the Immigration Control Act. With priority examination for patent applications, the speed of technology transfer is increasing. The relaxation of visa issuance procedures and extension of stay periods for foreigners is attracting top global talent, transforming the area into a “global AI hub.” In addition, the exemption from feasibility reviews for local government investment projects has accelerated the creation of an “AI Startup Growth Fund” worth 110 billion won.

As new growth engines are stirring in this era of AI-driven innovation, I believe open regulation is desperately needed. Now is the time for “negative regulation,” where only exceptions are regulated. Unreasonable regulations should be removed, and the possibilities for growth and progress should be expanded.

The most important virtue of local government is to possess the flexibility to read the flow of people’s lives up close and to “make things happen.” For residents, businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs all navigating the sea together, local government must shine as a lighthouse, not as a reef. That light will change the destiny of our city.

Seongsoo Jeon, Seocho District Mayor.