Gyeonggi Province to Restore Damaged Greenbelt into Park and Green Spaces Covering 5㎢ (Equivalent to 703 Soccer Fields)

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 2nd that it has established restoration plans for approximately 5㎢ of damaged areas within the Greenbelt (equivalent to 703 soccer fields) as conditions for designating 22 development projects (approximately 34㎢), including the 3rd New Towns, for development since 2020.

The damaged area restoration plan is a system whereby development sites designated for greenbelt release restore nearby damaged greenbelts to green spaces or pay equivalent conservation contribution fees.

Introduced since 2009, the costs are borne by the business implementers of the greenbelt release projects. However, according to regulations, restoration areas are set at 10-20% of the designated area, leading to frequent cases where only the minimum 10% is restored or conservation contribution fees are used as substitutes due to lower project costs and reduced civil complaints regarding compensation.

To prevent this, Gyeonggi Province operates a damaged area restoration plan consultation body led by the province with participation from implementers including Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) for the 3rd New Towns (5 districts, 23.79㎢ of designated area) promoted by the government, and has established restoration plans for 3.42㎢ (14.4% of designated area) of damaged greenbelts.

Furthermore, since 2021, the province has discontinued conservation contribution fee payments for all greenbelt designation projects within its jurisdiction and specified in writing through the "Gyeonggi Province Greenbelt Designation Integrated Guidelines" that a minimum of 15% of damaged areas must be restored. According to provincial officials, there has been not a single case of conservation contribution fee substitution since 2020.

Additionally, Gyeonggi Province has submitted recommendations to the National Assembly and the government to include in damaged area restoration targets not only the regional ecological green axes and land types that must be preserved (and those at risk of future damage—residential lots, factory sites, warehouse sites, mixed-use land) but also illegal facility storage areas, so that they can be restored to green spaces. Accordingly, the Greenbelt Act was amended in June 2022, and its enforcement decree in December 2022.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province is additionally reviewing amendments to the integrated guidelines that include ways to strengthen environmental considerations in designation projects. In June 2021, the province established its own integrated guidelines to promote greenbelt designation projects that consider environmental protection, public interest, and public benefit. Standards for damaged area restoration, parks and green spaces, public rental housing, and ecological area ratios were applied at levels higher than those stipulated in the relevant laws. This is the first such initiative among metropolitan local governments nationwide.

Chu Dae-un, Head of the Spatial Strategy Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Greenbelt designations will be minimized going forward. However, for unavoidable regional projects, we will maximize the use of damaged area restoration projects to actively lead efforts in restoring and preserving green spaces within the greenbelt."