Deregulation of the Green-Belt and Revitalization of Economy in Korea

In 1946, South Korea had an estimated urban population of 2.83 million, or roughly 15% of the total population. Urban population dramatically increased before and after Korean War and 1960s' economic development. The increase of urban population causes a lot of problems, One of them was sprawl of city. Development-restricted zone system was introduced to keep urban sprawl during the high economic growth period of 1970s and 1980s and contributed to preservation of little green and open spaces in Seoul and other major cities. It reserved some often-spaces surrounding the cities for future development, and it made possible a long-term plan to meet the future land needs and thereby making a significant contribution to the healthy growths of the cities. Korean does not have clear and obvious standards for that differentiations between lawful regulation on real property and Korean version of regulatory takings even though Korean Constitutional Court has tried to develope some legal principles to adjudicate whether regulation over property rights is constitutional or not since it decided development-restricted zoning system as a nonconformity in 1998. Korean Constitutional Court has developed the rule against excessive restriction, non-delegation doctrine and payment of full compensation to adjudicate whether regulation over real property rights is constitutional or not. It is necessary to revitalize Korean current economic stagnation with de-regulating or lifting of the development restriction area, which can give some confidence for future investments and provides some protective measures for the owners of property inside the green belts in Korea. There are huge debates related to the proper role of the development restriction area system and proper protection of ownership of lands in Korea.