Ha Seong-dong, a lawmaker on the Safety and Construction Committee of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Integrated City Assembly representing Hwasun District 1, on Tuesday called for stronger management measures for land transaction permit zones tied to a large-scale semiconductor fab development project near Gwangju Airport. He also urged coordinated cooperation with neighboring cities and counties and improvements to greenbelt regulations, during a work briefing of the Urban Space Bureau.
Ha said the designation covers not only areas surrounding planned development sites but also adjacent regions including Jangseong and Hwasun, and urged authorities to establish preemptive management measures to prevent resident inconvenience and property rights restrictions stemming from the sweeping regulations.
"Large-scale development projects may exceed the administrative capacity of individual cities and counties," Ha said. "While smooth progress on development is important, careful measures must be put in place to ensure that industries suited to local characteristics — including agriculture — and residents' legitimate property rights are not harmed."
Calls also emerged for reforming the greenbelt system to reflect current realities following the launch of the integrated special city.
"Residents in adjacent areas including Naju, Hwasun, Damyang and Jangseong, as well as the existing Gwangju area, have long faced property rights restrictions under greenbelt regulations," Ha said. "Now that administrative boundaries have shifted with the integration, efforts must continue to expand the scope and authority for lifting those restrictions."
In response, Urban Space Bureau Director Park Geum-hwa said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated the land transaction permit zones — covering towns, townships and neighborhoods within a 10-kilometer radius of the airport — after prior consultation with the city. "We will continue to communicate with real estate agencies and brokers to prevent resident inconvenience before it arises," she added.
Park said the bureau had requested, during the special law drafting process, that the authority to lift greenbelt restrictions be expanded from the current 1 million square meters to 3 million square meters, but the proposal was not reflected in the final legislation. "We will continue to petition the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for regulatory improvements, taking into account the changed circumstances of the integrated special city and the need to protect residents' property rights," she said.
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