Ruling and Opposition Parties to Hold Further Talks on Easing FAR for Private Redevelopment Projects... Urban Improvement Act and Yongsan Park Act Delayed Again

Not Introduced at the National Assembly Plenary Session on October 1; Further Discussions to Continue

A bill to relax floor area ratio (FAR) requirements by up to 1.3 times for public-led reconstruction and redevelopment projects under certain conditions was not introduced at the plenary session on October 1. Initially, there was speculation that the bill could be brought to the floor by the ruling party. However, responding to the opposition's demands that private redevelopment projects should receive the same level of easing, it was decided to hold further discussions. The easing of floor area ratio for public redevelopment projects was part of the government's 9·7 policy package announced last year, but even after more than a year, the relevant system has not been revised.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and political sources on October 1, the proposed amendment to the Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act—which grants temporary floor area ratio benefits to public-led redevelopment projects—was not put on the agenda for the plenary session that day. There had been speculation that the bill could be introduced by the ruling party, as legislative delays have hindered the improvement of housing supply policies and systems.

People Power Party lawmakers have agreed on the need for amendments but have also insisted that similar easing should be granted to private redevelopment projects. Heejung Kim, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, introduced a bill in May that would allow both private and public projects to receive floor area ratio incentives of up to 1.3 times the existing cap if certain conditions are met, regardless of the project’s classification. In August this year, lawmaker Jungjae Kim of the same party introduced a bill granting a 1.2 times FAR benefit for private redevelopment projects and a 1.3 times benefit for public redevelopment projects.

An apartment reconstruction site in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The ruling party, which had previously opposed the opposition’s demands, has recently shifted its stance and has become more open to partially accepting them. The presidential office and the government had long maintained that relaxing rules for private redevelopment could destabilize the already volatile real estate market and therefore could not be accepted. However, in light of the need to increase housing supply, they have begun to consider partial easing for private sector redevelopment projects as well. An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport commented, "The government has not yet established a concrete direction; rather, it is likely to be decided through additional discussions at the standing committee level, together with the Ministry, Seoul City, and other stakeholders."

The Yongsan Park Special Act, which would relax park and green space requirements when developing scattered sites near Yongsan Park, was also not introduced for consideration on this day. This bill is aimed at relaxing green space requirements for adjacent, scattered sites—not the main site of Yongsan Park itself. It is unrelated to the proposal to build housing on damaged land within Yongsan Park that has been debated between the government, the ruling party, the opposition, and the Seoul city government. As controversy over housing supply within the park has escalated into political strife between these groups, the legislative process has stalled.

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