Regulations Relaxed Around Suwon Hwaseong Fortress... Redevelopment and Reconstruction Now Possible

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] With regulations eased on the historic and cultural environment preservation area around Suwon Hwaseong, the 200-500m zone outside the fortress boundary will now be subject to Suwon's urban planning ordinances and related laws.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 21st the ‘Adjustment of Allowable Standards for Construction Activities within the Historic and Cultural Environment Preservation Area of the Historic Site "Suwon Hwaseong"’, which relaxes the building standards around Suwon Hwaseong.

At a ‘Briefing Session on Regulatory Relaxation for Suwon Hwaseong Historic and Cultural Environment Preservation Area’ held at Suwon Media Center on the 21st, Suwon Special City Mayor Lee Jae-jun stated, "We will enhance and preserve the value of Suwon Hwaseong."

Mayor Lee said, "The areas around Suwon Hwaseong designated as historic and cultural environment preservation zones have been difficult to develop due to building height restrictions, causing buildings to deteriorate and neighborhoods to become impoverished. Suwon City has made consistent efforts to resolve the difficulties facing residents in the preservation area, and has finally achieved the outcome of regulatory relaxation."

The historic and cultural environment preservation area is a buffer zone between cultural heritage and surrounding areas, protecting the value of cultural heritage. It is set within 500m from the outer boundary and regulates building heights.

Regulations around Suwon Hwaseong began in 2008, and in 2010, revised regulatory standards were announced, restricting building heights to 8m at minimum to 51m at maximum by zone within a 500m radius outside the fortress walls. The historic and cultural environment preservation area of Suwon Hwaseong covers 5.036㎢, which is 4.2% of Suwon's total area, with 53,889 households and approximately 107,000 residents living within the preservation area.

With this regulatory relaxation, the 200-500m zone outside Suwon Hwaseong can now be handled under Suwon's urban planning ordinances and related laws. The area covers 2.19 million㎡ with 4,408 buildings. The removal of building height restrictions enables redevelopment and reconstruction projects to proceed.

Building height regulations within 200m of the fortress exterior and within the fortress walls have also been slightly relaxed, allowing structures to be raised by one floor. The historic and cultural environment preservation area, previously divided into 16 zones, has been adjusted to 7 zones.

For over a decade, Suwon City has consistently requested the Cultural Heritage Administration to "ease regulations" to resolve inconveniences for residents in the preservation area. Finally, at the 2nd Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister last November, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that "it will relax the scope of historic and cultural environment preservation areas from the existing 500m to 200m, limited to residential, commercial, and industrial zones."

Following the government's regulatory relaxation announcement, Suwon City moved quickly to resolve the long-standing wishes of residents in the preservation area. In March, the city held a ‘Policy Discussion Forum on Improving Suwon Hwaseong Historic and Cultural Environment Preservation Area’ with local residents and experts to discuss regulatory improvement measures, and held meetings with regional lawmakers and the Cultural Heritage Administration to discuss the ‘Suwon Hwaseong Historic and Cultural Environment Preservation Area Adjustment Plan’.

On November 8th, Suwon City requested regulatory relaxation consultations with the Cultural Heritage Administration, and on December 6th, Cultural Heritage Administration committee members visited the Suwon Hwaseong site for field research before the adjustment plan was finally discussed. At the Cultural Heritage Committee meeting held at the Cultural Heritage Administration on December 13th, the city achieved the outcome of ‘original proposal approved’.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun stated, "It is undesirable for residents' property rights to be excessively violated simply because they live in a historic and cultural environment preservation area. We will create a good example where residents and cultural heritage coexist in harmony, not in conflict."