Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Revision of Orbital Transportation Act, not for Namsan Gondola... I hope there is no misunderstanding" (comprehensive)

Seoul's request to revise the enforcement ordinance of the Park and Green Space Act is 'cautious'... “We are listening to opinions from all walks of life”

We also emphasize response to illegal redevelopment activities... “You cannot rule over the law with a religious shield.”

(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Jin-song = Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Hong Ji-seon announced on the 11th that the revision of the Orbital Transportation Act, which is the legal basis for the project, in order to prevent the monopoly of some orbital projects such as Seoul's Namsan cable car, was not intended to revitalize the Namsan gondola project promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

In the process of redevelopment of Seoul's Jangwi District 10, Sarang Jeil Church criticized the case of blocking compulsory execution despite the court's ruling, and announced that it would cooperate with the full investigation conducted by the Prime Minister's Office and review ways to improve the system.

Minister Hong met with reporters after visiting the downtown public housing complex project site at Yaksu Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, and explained the purpose of the revised Orbital Transportation Act, saying, "I hope the city of Seoul does not misunderstand."

Minister Hong said, “The public nature and safety of the orbital project have been neglected and long-term monopoly status has been granted to operators, resulting in negative effects. Therefore, we have revised the Orbital Transportation Act to systematically correct this.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government showed a cautious stance on revising the enforcement ordinance of the Park and Green Space Act, which was mentioned as a prerequisite for the Namsan gondola project.

The city of Seoul is requesting that the height limit (12m) for facilities within the urban natural park area be relaxed in order to build a steel tower over 30m required to install the Namsan gondola. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Parks and Green Space Act in this regard in June last year, but the amendment has not been finalized due to mixed opinions for and against it.

Minister Hong said, “Because (the revision of the enforcement ordinance) is an issue targeting parks and green spaces across the country, we are listening to the opinions of experts from all walks of life.”

Meanwhile, in an article posted on

Minister Hong said, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will actively cooperate with the comprehensive investigation conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office by gathering the actual status of acts that deny lawful law and order,” and added, “We will also look for any gaps in the system that can be prevented.”

Previously, President Lee Jae-myung toured the redevelopment site in Jangwi District 10 on the 4th and ordered a strict response, saying, "In a country governed by the rule of law, how can we stand by force?"

Jangwi District 10 was designated as a maintenance area in 2008 and received management and disposal plan approval in 2017, but the project was delayed for a long time as Sarang Jeil Church, which is included in the project site, demanded compensation higher than the appraised value and resisted compulsory execution by the court. Seongbuk-gu eventually changed the project implementation plan in June last year to redevelopment excluding Sarang Jeil Church.

In response to some claims that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should reclaim the right to approve business plans for urban public housing complex projects delegated to the Mayor of Seoul, he stated that he would "give priority to consultation."

Minister Hong said, "Giving licensing rights to local governments that directly carry out administration on site is advantageous in speeding up the project and reflecting residents' opinions, so we delegated this to the Seoul Metropolitan Government," but pointed out, "There are concerns that the Seoul Metropolitan Government's prior integrated planning, which is not in the legal process, tying it to multiple project sites is unreasonable for residents because it does not speed up the process."

However, he said, “Rather than revoking the license, we are requesting prompt consultation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and are conducting working-level negotiations.”

Regarding the point that there is a controversy over fairness with private redevelopment projects because the sales price cap is not applied to the candidate site for the Gangnam area urban complex project, he explained, "Because it is a public project, it is not possible to blindly increase the sales price just because there is no sales price cap," and added, "We are reviewing various public contribution methods such as donation."

Regarding the Reconstruction Excess Profit Recovery System, which recovers a portion of excess profits generated from reconstruction as a levy, Minister Hong said, "It is intended to stabilize housing prices, but there are opinions that it excessively infringes on property rights. As a bill to abolish it is also pending in the National Assembly, we will review it from various angles."

On this day, Minister Hong toured the site of the Yaksu Station Urban Complex Business District and held a meeting with residents, experts, and related organizations to listen to their opinions.

This project is to supply a total of 1,616 households in an area of approximately 64,000 m2 in Sindang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to shorten the project period by more than five months by applying an integrated design and construction competition for the first low-rise residential type, and to begin construction in the first half of 2030 and move in in the second half of 2034.