Currently the authority for apartment "reconstructing" plans lies with provinces and independent cities, and specific construction permits and approvals are done by local governments under them. In other words, it is local governments that have most of the actual authority. Consequently that has led elected leaders to approve of reconstruction projects too easily because of public requests or their political campaigns, and vague legal stipulations have lead to debates over who has authority. Many times future apartment owners suffer financial losses when construction contractors, reconstruction associations, and civil servants responsible for issuing permits engage in corrupt activities. One can understand well enough why it is the national government wants to adjust within reasonable bounds the excessive authority local governments have and to change laws that are too vague. One way to go about doing that might be to specify exactly who is responsible for every detail to take back some of local governments' authority.
However, making changes in permit-issuing authority should be approached prudently as it is an issue that influences the whole country. If the national government focuses on the reconstruction market in Gangnam it could cause unforeseen side effects in other areas. The idea of giving a certain amount of authority to local governments was to allow flexibility, so that decisions fit local conditions. There is already a new program in place under which a set amount of profit from redevelopment is claimed by the government, so it would be worthwhile waiting to see what effect that policy has first.
Cooperation with local governments is a priority for consistent real estate policy. It is the lack of coordination that has encouraged speculative investment, and it is largely because of the national government's lack of coordination skills. There has to be the proper management and supervision of the soundness and transparency of apartment reconstruction, so that corruption does not even get a chance.
The Hankyoreh, 23 January 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
