▲ Heo Jang, Second Vice Minister of Economy and Finance (right), inspects a site for public housing development on military land in Gonghang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on April 8, while listening to a briefing by Kang O-soon, Head of the Regional Balanced Development Division at Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).
The government will conduct a full inspection of 5.9 million state-owned properties over the next three years.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced today (June 30) that it held the 7th State Property Policy Deliberation Committee Real Estate Subcommittee of 2026 at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Second Vice Minister Heo Jang, to deliberate on plans for regular inspections and audits of state-owned properties.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance aims to enhance the efficiency of state property management by strengthening inspections and audits starting this year.
To this end, the government has decided to replace the previous five-year cycle of comprehensive state property surveys with an annual regular inspection.
A total of 5.9 million state-owned properties will be inspected over the next three years, and any properties found to have issues will be subject to additional on-site inspections or used as audit data.
Furthermore, the government will conduct audits over the next three years targeting 19 central government agencies and public institutions that have been delegated or entrusted with the management of large-scale state properties.
In the first year of implementation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as the overarching agency for state property, will form a joint audit team with the Public Procurement Service and KAMCO (Korea Asset Management Corporation) to audit major state property management departments and public institutions.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has also decided to exchange state-owned and public-owned properties with local governments to increase the utilization of state assets.
First, the government has agreed to acquire seven sites currently occupied and used by the state, including the Mobile Police Headquarters in Sindang-dong and the Seongdong Police Station, in exchange for the Tancheon Water Recycling Center site currently occupied and used by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The acquired properties are classified as D or E grade in safety inspections, requiring urgent measures, and are considered to have high potential for national wealth creation through future development based on their locations.
Conversely, the disposed sites will continue to be used by the Seoul Metropolitan Government as essential local facilities, and it was determined that the state has little potential to utilize them.
In addition, at the request of Jeju Province, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has decided to exchange a site designated for a new police training facility, which is currently provincial land, with the former Jeju Provincial Police Agency building, which is state-owned land adjacent to the provincial government office.
The plan is to build a specialized training facility for police mental health recovery on the acquired public land, thereby saving on land acquisition budgets and project timelines.
The ministry also plans to support Jeju Province in building additional office space for the provincial government and establishing an administrative and cultural complex.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Economy and Finance conducted a retention evaluation for 106 state property special exceptions that are set to expire this year.
As a result, it was decided to retain 45 exceptions and extend their sunset clauses by five years.
The ministry plans to conditionally retain 53 exceptions.
These will have their sunset clauses extended by three years, with their usage status to be reviewed annually.
Eight exceptions deemed to have no practical benefit will be abolished starting next year.
State property special exceptions refer to a system that provides reductions in usage fees, long-term usage permits, or free transfers of state-owned property under individual laws such as special acts.
Currently, 221 exceptions are in operation through 87 laws, resulting in approximately 1 trillion won in annual fee reductions.
An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "The abolished exceptions were rarely used," adding, "Since there was no usage record, the scale of fee reductions will not change even if the exceptions are abolished."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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