Interior ministry reports 1,117 local regulatory reform tasks in first half

The interior ministry said Wednesday that local governments identified 1,117 laws and local ordinances in need of revision in the first half of 2026, up 37.1 percent from 815 a year earlier, as central and local authorities pressed ahead with a joint drive to clear burdensome regulations.

Of those proposals, 120 were accepted for improvement by the relevant ministries, including partial acceptances, up 36.4 percent from 88 a year earlier. The accepted tasks break down into 64 cases of inconvenience to daily life, 21 involving restrictions on small business owners and the self-employed, eight on difficulties for socially vulnerable groups, seven on life and safety protection, nine in the service industry, seven in new industries and four in traditional local industries.

In one accepted case, Seoul's Gwangjin district argued that private rental housing built through a trust structure cannot practically secure a rental deposit guarantee before completion, but was still required to submit related documents, delaying approval. The land ministry has accepted the proposal and is pushing to revise the Special Act on Private Rental Housing so the timing of guarantee enrollment fits the structure of the project.

The health ministry also accepted a proposal from Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to change the basic pension system for recipients of the disability pension, and is pursuing legislation that would treat a person as having applied for the basic pension upon turning 65.

Local governments have also been revising their own ordinances. Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, lowered the threshold for designating an alley commercial district to 15 stores or more from 20 to 25, while Busan eased the facility area required to register an auto repair business to 50 square meters from 70. North Chungcheong Province removed a 15-square-meter area limit in an ordinance on public facility shops, widening opportunities for people of national merit to earn a living. Busan's Jung district is moving to lower the consent rate needed to request an audit of apartment management to 20 percent from 30 percent, and Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is working to incorporate a central government exception that allows a floor area ratio of up to 120 percent when infectious disease control facilities are built.

The ministry has designated 27,658 local regulations registered more than five years ago for review, asking each local government's regulatory reform committee to examine whether they are still necessary and reasonable. It also held working-level meetings in six regions in the first half to review 125 pending tasks on site, and plans further sessions covering 60 proposals from 41 local governments in five regions in the second half.

"Improving regulations that are close to people's lives and rooted in the field carries greater importance and produces effects people can feel," said Song Kyung-joo, head of the ministry's local finance and economy office. "We will run a reasonable and efficient regulatory reform system so that substantive deregulation reaches residents and regions."

The ministry said it will check that the ordinance revisions identified this year are completed by December and will hold a competition for best practices in local regulatory reform, awarding outstanding local governments.