"Special Act on Aging Public Office Buildings" Stalled by Partisan Conflict... Passage Unlikely This Year

Direct Designation of Districts by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Streamlining All Approval Procedures
Seoul City: "Consent, Not Just Consultation, Is Needed"
Challenges Include Resident Opposition and Political Disputes

The special bill promoted by the government and the ruling party to increase housing supply in urban areas by redeveloping neglected public assets such as aging public office buildings through mixed-use development has failed to pass the National Assembly. As the positions of the ruling and opposition parties have become more sharply divided during the process of handling various real estate bills, discussions at the standing committee level of the National Assembly have stalled.

The mixed-use redevelopment of aging government office buildings is a method introduced during the previous Moon Jae-in administration, and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration also announced its intention to pursue it on a large scale. However, due to opposition from local governments and low private sector participation, actual implementation has been extremely rare. To facilitate smooth project execution, the bill was prepared to grant significant authority to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, but it is expected to face challenges in passing.

According to coverage from the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as of March 2, the "Special Act on Mixed-Use Development of Aging Public Office Buildings to Increase Housing Supply in Urban Areas," sponsored by Assemblyman Park Sanghyuk of the Democratic Party last December, is currently pending in the subcommittee on bill review under the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Although it was referred to the subcommittee in the full committee meeting on February 10, the subcommittee has not convened since, and review has not begun.

This bill provides grounds for the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to directly carry out development of aging government office buildings or idle national and public land. Not only can the minister directly designate mixed-use development districts, but once the project plan is approved, all related permits, including urban management plan changes, development activity permits, and building permits, can be processed collectively without separate procedures. The bill also establishes grounds to proceed with development even in the absence of cooperation from local governments. Although the law stipulates that the relevant local government must be consulted when designating a development district or approving a project plan, it also specifies that if no opinion is submitted within 30 days, it will be regarded as having no objection.

Due to escalating partisan conflict over real estate-related legislation, the review of the bill itself has not gained momentum. The subcommittee, originally scheduled to be held last week, was reportedly canceled after the People Power Party decided to boycott all standing committee schedules. The opposition is protesting that the passage of the amendments to the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act and the Urban Renewal Act in last month's full committee meeting was "legislative unilateralism" led by the ruling party.

The Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act expands the authority of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to designate land transaction permit zones, while the Urban Renewal Act contains provisions to relax the floor area ratio for public reconstruction projects. The opposition is objecting to both the government’s previous designation of Seoul and adjacent areas as extensive land transaction permit zones and the further expansion of such zones. In the case of relaxing the floor area ratio, the opposition argues that it should be pursued not only in the public sector but also in the private sector. The ruling party’s position on these issues also remains firm.

The concept of mixed-use redevelopment for aging government office buildings was first introduced during the Moon Jae-in administration. However, it was not implemented properly due to opposition from residents and local governments. Of the 42 project sites announced in 2017, only three were completed. During the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the "Dynamic Economy Roadmap" announced in July 2024 also aimed to supply 50,000 housing units by 2035, but progress has been sluggish. Previous mixed-use developments were promoted based on the Special Act on Public Housing, not a separate law. As a result, the ruling party and the government decided to mandate the review of mixed-use development for aging government office buildings, draft project plans, and create a separate special law that would grant the central government direct authority for project permits.

Even if the law is enacted, it remains uncertain whether opposition from residents or local governments can be overcome. For example, residents near Gangnam-gu Office, which has been identified as a project site under the special act, are opposing the plan due to concerns about traffic congestion. There have also been projects that were abandoned because the agency owning the office building demanded excessive development profits. Regarding the special act, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has expressed concern that if a local government owning shared property opposes a mixed-use development project, only a formal consultation process may take place. Therefore, the city has stated that the legal provision should be revised to require "consent" rather than "consultation."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has stated that if the law is enacted and projects move forward, it will ensure sufficient consultation with local governments. A ministry official said, "From a practical standpoint, there has never been a case where the project was pursued without considering the intentions of local governments. Even under the Special Act on Public Housing, ministerial approval is required, but as with this, consultation with local governments is always conducted. We do not consider the absence of an opinion from a local government within the specified period as automatic agreement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.