Rep. Kim Nam-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Yonhap]
Rep. Kim Nam-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Yonhap]

Rep. Kim Nam-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Incheon's Gyeyang-eul district, introduced a package bill Wednesday as his first piece of legislation, aimed at eliminating discriminatory restrictions on the Greater Seoul region and easing regulations that have hampered local development.

Kim said the package comprises four amendment bills covering the Defense and Military Installations Projects Act, the Military Bases and Installations Protection Act, the Transit-Oriented Development Act and the Airport Facilities Act. The amendments target what he described as "triple overlapping regulations" — restrictions tied to urban military facilities, development-restricted greenbelt zones and building height limits near airports — that have long blocked development in Gyeyang and Incheon.

The proposed amendments to the Defense and Military Installations Projects Act and the Military Bases and Installations Protection Act would establish a legal basis for reinvesting development profits from former military sites — generated after facilities are relocated — into local development projects such as improving residential infrastructure near the relocation sites.

The bills also introduce a "conditional consent" system to address permit freezes that occur after a relocation plan is finalized but before a protection zone is lifted. Under the system, the commanding officer of the relevant unit could agree in advance to pre-consultation for approved relocation projects, on the condition that development proceeds only after relocation is complete. The measure aims to improve community acceptance at relocation sites and shorten administrative processing times.

The amendment to the Transit-Oriented Development Act aims to improve the financial viability of metropolitan rail projects — including the Greater Seoul Express Railway, or GTX — in the Greater Seoul area. For metropolitan rail lines included in the national rail network construction plan, the bill would create a special exception allowing mixed-use station development within greenbelt zones, limited to transit-oriented areas. It would also raise the rate at which development profits are reinvested from the current 25 percent to 50 percent, channeling returns back into rail facilities and nearby infrastructure.

The amendment to the Airport Facilities Act centers on creating a formal channel for local governments near airports and airfields to have their views reflected in decision-making. It would require that at least one member of the aeronautical review committee — which deliberates on structures exceeding obstacle limitation surface heights — be an outside expert recommended by a council of metropolitan mayors and governors, ensuring that local residents and governments have a meaningful voice in the review process.

"Incheon and Gyeyang are lumped in with the broader metropolitan area and face discriminatory development restrictions that ignore their regional characteristics," Kim said, explaining the intent behind the legislation. "I introduced this package bill as part of a 'Greater Seoul overhaul' — dismantling and reassembling regulations to fit the specific needs of each area, the way you would take apart a machine and put it back together."


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