Korea eases disaster fee waivers for public property under revised law

South Korea's interior ministry said Tuesday that a revised law governing public property will let local governments waive usage and rental fees for disaster-stricken residents without prior approval from local councils, part of a broader push to manage state-owned assets more scientifically.

The revision to the Public Property and Goods Management Act, which took effect on the day it was promulgated on Oct. 13, removes the requirement for deliberation by a public property review committee and consent from local assemblies when granting temporary use or lease contracts to residents of disaster-hit areas for recovery and relief purposes.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung said the government has already demonstrated the value of data-driven asset management through a pilot program. "As we discovered hidden assets worth 20 trillion won ($15 billion) through the pilot project, data-based scientific management is the key to public property," Yoon said. The 2024-2025 pilot cross-checked public property registers against three official ledgers — real estate registration, land records and building registers — and uncovered about 157,000 hidden assets worth roughly 20 trillion won.

Under the revised law, the ministry will conduct annual analysis and diagnosis of public property management and may make the results public. It also establishes a legal basis for designating specialized institutions to handle tasks such as research on the public property system, analysis and diagnosis of management practices, statistical verification, and operation of related information systems. The ministry may cancel a designation or order a suspension of up to six months if an institution is found to have obtained its designation fraudulently or no longer meets the required standards, with a hearing required before such action.

The law introduces a five-year comprehensive survey of public property, which the ministry can delegate to a designated specialized institution. The ministry must notify local government heads in advance when conducting the survey, and the cost can be shared between the central government and local authorities. The new analysis, designation and survey provisions will take effect one year after promulgation.

Separately, the ministry will establish and operate information systems for public property and goods, and may entrust that work to relevant specialized institutions. "With this legal revision as an opportunity, we will systematically reorganize public property that has been in blind spots and continue to improve systems so that it can be actively used for the people and local communities," Yoon said.

The ministry said it plans to prepare subordinate legislation, including enforcement decrees, and to draw up detailed operational standards and support measures so that local governments can implement the changes smoothly. The amendment also updates references to administrative districts to reflect the launch of integrated special cities alongside existing metropolitan cities.