Incheon Free Economic Zone authority pushes to streamline development approval process

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority has asked the government to amend relevant laws to reduce repetitive administrative procedures in free economic zone development projects.

The push for regulatory reform aims to accelerate development and improve the investment environment. At the 34th National Free Economic Zone Chiefs' Conference, hosted by the Gyeonggi Province Free Economic Zone Authority on Thursday, the Incheon authority proposed amending the Special Act on the Designation and Operation of Free Economic Zones.

Under the current system, development projects within free economic zones must go through a separate review by a local government's shared-property deliberation committee — even after receiving approval for an implementation plan. This creates duplicated administrative procedures, as the committee must separately deliberate on the decommissioning of administrative property or changes to the designated use of general property.

By contrast, projects governed by the Industrial Sites and Development Act can handle the decommissioning of administrative property and use-and-profit permits at the implementation plan approval stage, allowing work to proceed without additional procedures.

The Incheon authority concluded that this regulatory gap has been slowing development projects in free economic zones and adding to the burden on corporate investors.

It accordingly proposed expanding the deemed-approval provisions of the free economic zone special act so that decommissioning of shared property and changes to the designated use of general property can be processed simultaneously when an implementation plan is approved.

If the law is amended, completing shared-property procedures alongside implementation plan approval would eliminate duplicative reviews and shorten project timelines. The change is also expected to reduce the administrative burden on investing companies and strengthen the competitiveness of free economic zones as an investment destination.

"Free economic zones are key national hubs driving the attraction of global companies and the development of advanced industries," said Yun Baek-jin, acting commissioner of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority. "We will continuously identify unreasonable regulations that emerge on the ground and work actively with relevant agencies to improve the system so that projects can move forward quickly."