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Korea Times / 1 Sep., 2004
By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter




Large companies and foreign firms will be able to construct new tech-heavy plants in the Seoul Metro area, namely Seoul, Inchon and Kyonggi Province in future.

This is the first time the government will allow new factories in the area since it adopted a system strictly limiting the total land size of manufacturing facilities in 1994, the so-called factory dimension cap.

The Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development and the Ministry of Construction and Transportation yesterday announced a set of measures to develop the Seoul Metro area and the rest of the nation.

Previously, the government had only permitted expansion of factories in 14 specific industries, including semiconductors, in the Seoul Metro area. It had however permitted a few new plant constructions, including LG. Philips LCD plant in Paju after the implementation of the factory dimension cap in 1994.

The announcement is understood as a compromise between areas of non-new administrative capital. Provincial people have felt neglected from development, as the new capital plan is likely to only benefit residents in South Chungchong Province, and Seoul Metro residents have been concerned that their area may also suffer from the new capital plan.

The government said it would gradually nullify regulations concerning plant construction in the Seoul Metro area. While keeping the factory construction cap for the region, it will first selectively remove regulations for high-tech sectors of large companies and foreign firms by 2007, in connection with the administrative capital relocation plan and the innovative city construction plan.

Especially, land development and large building construction will be partially tolerated in regions where major change is forecast to occur due to relocation of public organizations, including Kwachon.

After 2008, the government is considering converting prohibition-oriented regulations to a review system for plant construction.

With the completion of government relocation to the new administrative capital in 2014, the government plans to scrap laws on development of the Seoul Metro area.

As part of efforts to consolidate competitiveness of the Seoul Metro, the government eyes to nurture Seoul as a hub of finance and international business in Northeast Asia. Inchon will be developed as a transportation and logistics hub, with Kyonggi Province planned as a Silicon-valley of high-end knowledge-based industries in the region.

Land in the Seoul Metro will be classified into two types _ development and conservation _ in order to make the region an environmentally-friendly human habitat.

The government said Chong Wa Dae and its adjacent Mt. Pukak region will be developed as a history park, while the U.S. army base site in Yongsan will be transformed into a history and culture park.

In addition, the government aims to boost the housing penetration ratio to 112 percent by 2012, building 300,000 units per annum.

For 12 metropolitan cities and provinces beside the Seoul Metro, Taejon and South Chungchong Province, different types of development plans will be applied to create a focus for each city, for example, knowledge-based city, bio-technology city and culture city.

The plans will be drawn up in connection with research centers, colleges and relocation of public organizations, which will be relocated from the Seoul Metro area.



kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr