The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is reviewing whether to designate areas near the Gwangju military airport site — where a Honam-region semiconductor cluster is being developed — as a land transaction permit zone. The move is intended to head off speculative real estate demand before it takes hold around the site of the massive project, which is expected to draw around 800 trillion won ($522 billion) in investment.
The government is in talks with the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city on designating the area near the Gwangju military airport as a land transaction permit zone, the ministry said Tuesday.
"When a large-scale national or development project gets under way, speculative pressure can rise," the ministry said, adding that it is reviewing whether to designate the land around the Gwangju military airport site. The specific timing and details of any designation are to be finalized through consultations with the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city.
The presidential office announced Monday that the Gwangju military airport site had been selected as the location for the Honam-region semiconductor cluster, following a joint public-private review meeting on mega-projects. The government said it would complete the site selection process through consultations with related ministries and move ahead with follow-up steps for industrial complex development.
Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said the site could secure approximately 2.5 million pyeong (8.3 square kilometers) of land, and that its existing flat terrain — a feature of its airport history — would minimize construction time. He added that its proximity to central Gwangju and a KTX station gave it advantages in attracting workers and supporting residential conditions.
The government is considering the measure to guard against speculative demand flowing into the area now that the site has been chosen for the key project. Kang also cited the swift announcement of the site selection, saying there had been reports that "real estate in the Honam region was starting to stir."
The ministry has previously designated project sites and surrounding areas as land transaction permit zones when speculative concerns mounted. It took the same step immediately after announcing development plans for Namsaup and Idongup in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province — the planned site of the Yongin semiconductor national industrial complex. Under a land transaction permit zone designation, any land transaction above a certain size requires approval from the head of the relevant local government.
Gwangju apartment prices have nonetheless been falling. According to the weekly apartment price survey released by the Korea Real Estate Board, sale prices in Gwangju fell 0.05 percent in the fifth week of June, as of June 29. On a cumulative basis since the start of the year, prices have declined 1.57 percent.
lucky@heraldcorp.com
