Land in Songdo, Incheon Left Idle After Sale... Amendment to Free Economic Zone Act Proposed

Mandatory Land Use and Imposition of Development Delay Charges
Jeong Ilyoung: "No More Delays or Speculative Neglect in Development"

A plan is underway to amend relevant laws in order to prevent companies that have acquired land in economic free zones, including Songdo International City in Incheon, from leaving the land idle for extended periods.

On January 20, Assemblyman Jeong Ilyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Yeonsu-gu, Incheon) announced that he had sponsored an amendment to the "Special Act on the Designation and Operation of Free Economic Zones."

The proposed amendment includes a provision obligating businesses that have acquired land in economic free zones to use the land for its planned purpose within a specified period. It also stipulates that if development is delayed or the land is left idle without justifiable reason, the mayor or provincial governor may issue an enforcement order and impose a development delay charge up to twice a year.

Since economic free zones are designated and operated to revitalize local economies and foster high-tech industries, the success of these zones depends on how efficiently the developed industrial and commercial sites are utilized.

However, there have been criticisms that some companies and businesses that have acquired land in economic free zones leave the land undeveloped for long periods or use it as a vehicle for speculative trading, rather than developing it for its intended purpose. As a result, the promotion of swift investment and the formation of industrial clusters are delayed, and the efficiency of infrastructure such as roads, parks, and water and sewage systems-created with significant public funds-is greatly diminished.

Lotte Time Villas Incheon Songdo Site. Provided by the office of Assemblyman Jeong Ilyoung

Lotte Group's shopping mall and resort development project "Lotte Time Villas Songdo," which is being promoted in Songdo, Incheon, received construction approval in 2007. However, repeated delays in groundbreaking and construction suspensions over the past 20 years have made it a representative case that negatively affects the local commercial district and residents' living environment.

Assemblyman Jeong stated, "The case of Lotte Time Villas in Songdo is not just a regional issue, but a structural problem in which development in public economic free zones is delayed without justifiable reason or left idle for speculative purposes. This amendment will serve as an institutional starting point for resolving the issue of idle land in all nine economic free zones nationwide, including Incheon."