Ministry Hints at Strong
Push for Grand Canal Project

Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung shows a cautious attitude toward relaxing real estate restrictions

Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung Jong-hwan indicated a strong push for the construction of the controversial "Grand Canal,"one of the public pledges President Lee Myung-bak made during his presidential election campaign.
Chung said, "The Grand Canal is not just a simple civil engineering project, but that the development of content to enliven the areas around the canal is essential.
Chung seemed to take the execution of the waterway project as an established fact, saying, "The Grand Canal Project is significant in that it will capitalize on rivers, so a forward-looking attitude toward the project needs to be taken."In an interview, the minister shared the need for the construction of the Grand Canal in 2005 when he made an inspection tour of the Yangtze River, which the Chinese use for such diverse purposes as logistics and tourism.
"As China did, if diverse content is added, the waterway project will boost the vigor of backwater areas,"he stressed. With regard to the controversy over environmental issues, he added that his ministry will pursue appropriate legal measures such as environment impact assessments after fully collecting the views of experts.
Chung, who passed the 10th high administrative exam, has been known as a transportation authority, holding such major positions in his career as the CEO of the Korea Railroad Corp. under President Kim Dae-jung's administration and the president of the Korea Railway Network Authority under the President Roh Moo-hyun administration.
In his inauguration speech at the ministry on March 6, Chung showed his determination to relax restrictions on land, saying that parts of the territory that need to be preserved will remain intact, but parts that do not need preservation will be developed under planning. In this regard, the ministry is striving to overhaul such restrictive systems as restrictions on the installation of factories, surcharges on the construction of infrastructure and permits and licenses for the construction of golf courses. The government should establish a new territory management strategy plan to create land space in order to compete with the world while promoting balanced regional development, he noted, citing the construction of greater economic spheres and the development of maritime resources.
However, Chung took a cautious attitude toward the restrictions of the real estate market. "I will carefully consider the real estate market situation because it's too early to see the level of stability in the housing market,"Chung said. He said he will take time before taking steps to lift the price cap imposed on privately-built housing and relax the restrictions on reconstruction.
Concerning an alternative option for supplying units to low-income earners ― a system proposed by the presidential transition team in which owners take a 51 percent controlling stake and occupants have the remaining 49 percent interest ― Chung said his ministry plans to implement it in order to diversify the types of housing ownership. The presidential transition team initially announced a plan to supply 50,000 to 60,000 units per annum, but working-level ministry officials said the target would be scaled back.
Chung was indirectly critical of President Roh Moo-hyun's administration's major public project on the construction of rental houses for low-income wage earners, saying that demand needed to be closely linked with supply. He said his ministry plans to thoroughly scrutinize and overhaul the project. As to the new city policies, he said it is desirable to expand the housing supply in downtown Seoul, but it is insufficient to simply solve the housing shortage, so his ministry will have to simultaneously implement new satellite city development projects. nw

Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung Jong-hwan