Incheon's Yeongjong-gu District (Mayor Son Hwa-jung), home to Incheon International Airport, has called on the government to reform regulations tailored to the area's unique characteristics. Mayor Son Hwa-jung attended the "Incheon Metropolitan City Basic Governments' Regulatory Innovation Meeting" held at Seohae District Office on the 14th, where she personally delivered a five-part deregulation proposal aimed at developing Yeongjong-gu into a hub city for a global airport economic zone to Park Yong-jin, vice chairman of the presidential Regulatory Rationalization Committee, and requested that the government take decisive action.
 [The Korean Today] Mayor Son Hwa-jung petitions Regulatory Reform Committee for Yeongjong's five key deregulation measures © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
According to Yeongjong-gu, Mayor Son said at the meeting that day, "Yeongjong-gu is South Korea's leading airport economic capital, home to Incheon International Airport, one of the world's top-tier airports," adding, "Now is the time to remove the institutional contradictions that are holding back Yeongjong-gu's potential," as she presented five deregulation tasks. Mayor Son especially stressed the need for full government attention and support so that Yeongjong-gu, which was newly launched this year as an independent autonomous district, can establish itself as a central city driving the growth of both Incheon and South Korea.
The five recommendations delivered that day were: improving the 72-hour visa-free entry system for transit tourists, easing height restrictions around the airport, revising the Airport Noise Prevention Act, improving the total hospital bed quota regulation in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, and revising the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act.
First, Mayor Son pointed out that the current 72-hour visa-free entry system for transit passengers applies only to group tourists, and proposed that the system be restructured to reflect recent tourism trends dominated by individual travel, and that the permitted duration be extended to match international standards, thereby laying the institutional groundwork to revitalize the transit tourism economy.
 [The Korean Today] Mayor Son Hwa-jung petitions Regulatory Reform Committee for Yeongjong's five key deregulation measures © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
Mayor Son then referred to the sacrifices of residents who have long endured aircraft noise damage, pointing out that the Airport Noise Prevention Act and its enforcement decree should be revised so that the airport corporation bears the full cost of airport noise support projects, which currently place an excessive financial burden on local governments.
Mayor Son also raised concerns that if the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards set to take effect in 2030 are revised, the entire Yeongjong area could become subject to height restrictions, and emphasized the need to ease such restrictions as much as possible while still ensuring flight safety and airport functionality.
 [The Korean Today] Mayor Son Hwa-jung petitions Regulatory Reform Committee for Yeongjong's five key deregulation measures © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
It was also pointed out that despite being an airport hinterland city, the district is classified as a "bed-surplus area in the central region," leaving it in an emergency medical blind spot. Mayor Son strongly requested that a new "Yeongjong zone" be established through readjustment of medical service zones, opening the way to attract a large general hospital.
Finally, Mayor Son described as "reverse discrimination" the fact that Yeongjong's unique characteristics as an island and the site of an international airport are not reflected, as it remains grouped together with other free economic zones such as Songdo and Cheongna under the growth management zone designation of the Seoul Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act, and stressed the need for institutional reform. In fact, Yeongjong, an island surrounded by the sea, is reportedly subject to reverse discrimination in which the construction or expansion of universities, public offices and other facilities is blocked, simply because it is connected to the mainland by bridges and thus subject to the same standards as other densely populated areas in the greater Seoul metropolitan region.
Mayor Son emphasized, "Despite being home to Incheon International Airport, one of the world's foremost pieces of infrastructure, Yeongjong remains caught in a trap of outdated regulations, resulting in a persistent structural contradiction that undermines the attraction of domestic corporate investment and even infringes on residents' basic right to health." She added, "Yeongjong is a key growth engine that will strengthen South Korea's global competitiveness, extending beyond Incheon," and requested "the Regulatory Rationalization Committee to play an active role so that Yeongjong's boundless potential is not held back by anachronistic regulations."
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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