Article 56 of the National Land Planning and Utilization Act stipulates that development permission is required for acts such as constructing buildings, installing structures, changing the topography of land, excavating earth and stone, dividing land, and placing objects for more than one month in green areas, management areas, and natural environment conservation areas. The application must be accompanied by plans for infrastructure, prevention of harm, prevention of environmental pollution, landscape, and landscaping (Article 57). The processing period is 15 days, and the deliberation period of the Urban Planning Committee and the consultation period with related agencies are waived (Article 54 of the Enforcement Decree).
In Incheon, the authority to grant development permission is delegated to the mayor or county governor (Article 84 and Appendix 3 of the Incheon City Urban Planning Ordinance). Unless handled directly by the mayor, applications are submitted to the city hall or county office where the land is located. Land in Songdo and other areas of Yeongsu-gu is received by Yeongsu-gu Office.
The area of land conversion that can be permitted at one time is also specified. In urban areas, residential, commercial, natural green areas, and production green areas are less than 10,000 square meters, industrial areas are less than 30,000 square meters, and conservation green areas are less than 5,000 square meters (Article 55 of the Enforcement Decree). Article 19 of the Incheon City Urban Planning Ordinance stipulates less than 10,000 square meters for conservation management areas, less than 20,000 square meters for production management areas, and less than 30,000 square meters for planned management areas and agricultural areas.
## Urban Planning Committee Review and Performance Guarantee Deposit
According to Incheon Ordinance Article 27, if you change the land use or excavate 30,000 cubic meters or more of earth and stone in industrial areas, or 10,000 square meters or more in residential and commercial areas, you must go through a review by the Urban Planning Committee. For land use changes of 1,000 square meters or more, you may consult with the committee (Article 28). When a performance bond is deposited, the standard is 20 percent of the total construction cost, and it must be deposited within 30 days from the date of notification, with a one-time extension of 30 days (Articles 30 and 30-2). If you carry out construction without permission or in a way that differs from the permitted content, you may receive a restoration order (Law Article 60).
## After Final Inspection: Land Division & Designation Change within 60 Days
After completing construction, you will receive a final inspection if you have obtained a landform change or earth removal permit. For buildings, this is equivalent to obtaining usage approval according to the Building Act (Article 62). If the use of a portion of a parcel changes due to landform change, etc., you must apply for subdivision within 60 days from that day (Article 79 of the Act on the Construction and Management of Spatial Information, etc.), and for a change of land designation, you must apply to the land management authority within 60 days from the date the reason arose (Article 81). Completion of landform change construction is a typical reason for a change of land designation (Article 67 of the Enforcement Decree). The application fee is 1,400 won per parcel after subdivision and 1,000 won per parcel for a change of land designation (Appendix 12 of the Enforcement Regulations).
## Incheon Urban Areas are Subject to Development Surcharge from 660㎡
Projects involving land designation changes may be subject to development burden fees (Article 5 of the Act on Recovery of Development Profits). The standard is 660㎡ or more for metropolitan city urban areas, 990㎡ or more for other urban areas, and 1,650㎡ or more for areas outside urban areas (Article 4 of the Enforcement Decree), so it applies from 660㎡ in Incheon urban areas. If the same person carries out the project in connected land within 5 years, the area is combined.
The burden fee is based on the amount deducted from the final point land price, the initial point land price, the normal land price increase, and development costs (Article 8 of the Act). To be recognized for development costs, you must submit a development cost calculation statement and supporting documents to the mayor, military commander, or district office within 40 days from the date of completion approval (Article 25-2 of the Enforcement Decree). If the deadline is missed, there is a fine of 1 million won, and if it is not submitted within 3 months or is submitted falsely, it is 2 million won (Article 29 of the Enforcement Decree). For projects of 2,700㎡ or less, construction costs, survey costs, design fees, and general administrative expenses can be calculated using the standard costs announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and in Incheon autonomous districts, it is 67,910 won per ㎡ for mountainous land and 50,390 won for land outside mountainous areas.
## Review and Payment Before Notification
The assessment criteria and estimated amount will be notified within 60 days of submitting the statement (Article 15 of the Enforcement Decree). If you have any objections, you can request a review before notification within 30 days from the date of notification, and the result will be notified within 15 days (Article 16 of the Enforcement Decree). The burden payment must be made within 6 months from the date of assessment (Article 18 of the Act), and if there are any objections to the assessment and collection, you can file an administrative review with the Central Land Acquisition Committee (Article 26 of the Act). Eligibility for exemptions and the relevant department vary depending on the details of the project and location, so individual verification is required for each case.
Hwang Yun-sang Administrative Agent Office handles document preparation/filing service for development permit application documents, land division/property designation change applications, development cost statement preparation and evidence organization, and drafting of pre-notification review request letters. Costs will be provided after consultation following a review of the case.