Korean Tourism Infrastructure Improving: Special Act for the Expansion of Tourism Accommodation

The Korean Tourism Organization under the leadership of a German-born non-ethnic Korean is the greatest reason for the increase in the number of tourists in Korea.  The KTO has been transformed from a government black hole into a vibrant organization with a bold vision.

One of the most significant issues for tourists visiting Korea, because of the drastic increase in tourism over the past few years, has been the lack of adequate accommodation.

Seoul is notorious for having, during peak times of the year, a lack of adequate business class rooms.  The situation is even more dire in many of the more remote areas. 

The recent implementation of the Special Act for the Expansion of Tourism Accommodation Facilities is intended to help resolve this issues.  The Act’s most significant benefits includes:

1. Extending the maximum period for a lease of a hotel facility to 30 years from the present five years;
2. Decreasing the amount of parking spaces required in a hotel facility;
3. Increasing, in some cases, of the maximum allowed area of usable building space for hotel projects; and
4. Decreasing the amount of rent for land leased from the government to private enterprises for the purposes of building a hotel.  

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Sean Hayes may be contacted at: SeanHayes@ipglegal.com.

Sean Hayes is co-chair of the Korea Practice Team at IPG Legal. He is the only non-Korean to have worked as an attorney for the Korean court system (Constitutional Court of Korea) and one of the first non-Koreans to be a regular member of a Korean law faculty.