Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 도시경영법 2015 [Municipal Administration Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Dosigyeongyeongbeob 2015 [Municipal Administration Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on January 29, Juche 81 (1992), as Decision No. 14 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 11, Juche 88 (1999), as Directive No. 507 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on February 3, Juche 89 (2000), as Directive No. 1337 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended on April 22, Juche 93 (2004), as Directive No. 416 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on September 19, Juche 95 (2006), as Directive No. 1968 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on July 24, Juche 102 (2013), as Directive No. 3292 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on July 23, Juche 103 (2014), as Directive No. 93 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on January 7, Juche 104 (2015), as Directive No. 314 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION LAW
Article 1 (Objectives of Municipal Administration Law)
Municipal administration is important work to protect and manage the buildings and facilities of cities and farming areas and manage cities and villages so that they have good prospects. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Municipal Administration Law shall strictly adopt systems and order in municipal administration, and serve to arrange more comfortable living conditions and a cultural living environment for residents.
Article 2 (Principle of investment in the municipal administration sector)
Taking responsibility for and looking after the standard of life of residents is the consistent policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The State shall place great strength in municipal administration work, and shall systematically increase investment in the municipal administration sector in conformity with advancing the standard of life of residents.
Article 3 (Principle of protecting and using buildings and facilities)
Buildings and facilities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are the precious wealth arranged by the sweat of our people. The State shall improve the protection management work of buildings and facilities to extend their lifespan and shall effectively use them.
Article 4 (Principle of registering buildings and facilities)
Correctly registering buildings and facilities is an important requirement of doing municipal administration work in a planned way. The State shall register buildings and facilities in time without exception, and must clearly limit and divide management.
Article 5 (Principle of guidance for municipal administration work)
Municipal administration is work of the whole State and whole society. The State shall adopt a standardized guidance and management system for municipal administration work, and shall strengthen socialist patriotic education within residents so that they frugally manage streets, villages, families, and workplaces.
Article 6 (Principle of modernizing, scientizing municipal administration)
The State shall develop scientific research in the municipal administration sector, and must actively accept the results of the newest scientific techniques, and must ceaselessly raise the modernization and scientization level of municipal administration.
Article 7 (Principle of training scientific and technical experts in the municipal administration sector)
The State shall strongly manage the lineup of workers in the municipal administration sector in conformity with increasing buildings and facilities and constructing them in a modern way, and shall train the required scientific and technical experts so that it has good prospects.
Article 8 (Exchange and cooperation in the municipal administration field)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the municipal administration field.
CHAPTER II. BUILDING MANAGEMENT
Article 9 (Maintenance of buildings)
Building management is the central task of municipal administration work. Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens shall maintain and clean buildings in time.
Article 10 (Classification and dividing responsibility for managing buildings)
Building property of the State shall be managed by dividing into homes, public buildings, and production buildings. The management of homes and public building shall be done by the municipal administration institution or the relevant institutions and enterprises, and the management of production buildings shall be done by the enterprise or organization that is using it.
Article 11 (Permission for use for homes and public buildings)
Local political institutions and the authorities concerned must give permission to use homes and public buildings by taking into consideration things such as family members, commuting distance, nature of work, and the surface area of required buildings. The home and public buildings that are property of the State may not be used without a permit to use.
Article 12 (Form of maintenance of buildings)
Building maintenance shall be divided into large maintenance, medium maintenance, and small maintenance. Large maintenance and medium maintenance shall be done by the institution and enterprise managing the building. The large maintenance and medium maintenance of buildings made for cooperative farms using State expenses shall be done by the relevant cooperative farms. Small maintenance shall be done by the institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens who use the buildings. In cases where the maintenance of property of cooperative organizations and private property buildings have been commissioned, the maintenance charges shall be borne by the building owner.
Article 13 (Maintenance cycle of buildings)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must maintain buildings according to the maintenance cycle. The work of determining the building maintenance cycle shall be done by the central municipal administration guidance institution.
Article 14 (Maintenance cycle of buildings)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall do maintenance of buildings to prevent rainwater leaking before monsoon season and shall finish the maintenance of buildings for wintering before the winter season, and must do the maintenance of homes, creches, kindergartens, primary schools, and hospital buildings first. The maintenance of production buildings must be intensively done during the factory building maintenance monthly period.
Article 15 (Remodelling buildings)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must remodel buildings that inconvenience the standard of life of residents, and old buildings, in a planned way so they are comfortable to use and beautify the city. In cases where buildings are sought to be demolished, extended, reconstructed, removed and reconstructed, or extended, or the structure or use of a building is sought to be changed, the approval of the authorities concerned must be received.
Article 16 (Transfer of buildings)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens seeking to move to a different building or move to a different area must correctly transfer the building they were using to the building management institution. They may not do acts of taking building equipment or removing facilities.
Article 17 (Transition of an individual’s home into property of the State)
In cases where the owner of an individual’s home requires it to be transitioned into property of the State, municipal administration institutions and financial banking institutions must take it over and must give compensation for it. Citizens who have given over home ownership rights into property of the State may continue to use that home.
Article 18 (Protection of buildings)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations managing buildings shall always service safety facilities, fire extinguishing facilities, and lightning protection systems to prevent accidents in advance, and must protect buildings from damage from fire and lightning. Acts may not be done to influence the lifespan and management of buildings, such as by setting off explosives close to buildings without the approval of the authorities concerned, or by digging up the ground.
CHAPTER III. OPERATION OF WATER AND SEWAGE, HEATING FACILITIES
Article 19 (Proper operation of water and sewage, heating facilities)
Well operating water and sewage, heating facilities is a compulsory requirement for assuring comfortable living conditions to residents and managing cities in a culturally hygienic manner. Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall maintain and service water and sewage, heating facilities and normalize their operation.
Article 20 (Production and supply of drinking water)
Local political institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations administering and operating water supply facilities must increase drinking water production, and must supply it to the residents according to the standards determined by the State.
State planning institutions, municipal administration institutions, and construction institutions must repair, extend, or newly build water supply facilities in residential districts where the drinking water production volume is low compared to the standards for supply.
Article 21 (Guarantee of water purity standards for drinking water)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations administering and operating water supply facilities shall extensively accept the results of modern scientific techniques, and must strictly abide by technical regulations and standard operation manuals to produce drinking water that rise to water purity standards. Drinking water that has not reached water purity standards may not be supplied to residents. Relevant enterprises must produce and assure in time medications used for purification and disinfection of drinking water.
Article 22 (Setting of sanitary protection zones)
Designated areas of catchment areas, distributing reservoirs, and pumping stations shall be made sanitary protection zones to prevent the pollution of drinking water. The work of determining sanitary protection zones shall be done by the Cabinet.
Article 23 (Management of sanitary protection zones)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations administering and operating water supply facilities, and authorities concerned, shall erect fences around sanitary protection zones and must strictly adopt an order of entry. Acts of polluting water supply, such as laundry or bathing, may not be done within sanitary protection zones.
Article 24 (Use of drinking water)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must use drinking water according to its designated use and must not waste it. Drinking water may not be used as water for industrial use without the approval of the municipal administration institution.
Article 25 (Treatment of sewage and industrial waste water)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must normally maintain and service the sewage pipe network and must send out wastewater by purifying and sterilizing it according to designated standards.
Article 26 (Management of drainage facilities)
Municipal administration institutions and authorities concerned must have sufficient drainage facilities, including stormwater drains, must maintain and service them in time, and must ensure that rainwater does not stagnate in residential districts. The drainage facilities of residential districts may not be used in other places and stormwater drains may not be connected to sewage pipes.
Article 27 (Production and supply of heating)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations producing and supplying heating shall send heat according to the designated flow, temperature, and pressure and shall raise heat effectiveness to assure indoor standards of buildings, including homes, according to designated standards.
Article 28 (Management of water and sewage, heating facilities)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations administering and operating water and sewage, heating facilities shall do well the maintenance, service, and warming for the pipe network and must systematically decrease the loss of drinking water and heating during piping. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must receive technical inspections by the municipal administration institution for water and sewage, heating facilities for which they have done their own maintenance and service. Covered gutters for heat pipes may not have different facilities installed without the approval of the authorities concerned, and may not draw drinking water and heating from the pipes network, and may not manipulate the sides installed there.
Article 29 (Operation of water and sewage, heating facilities)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall strongly open up the technical innovation movement to mechanize, automate, and remotely control the operation of water and sewage, heating facilities. The electricity supply institution must normally supply the electricity required for the operation of water and sewage, heating facilities.
Article 30 (Construction specifications for service pipes)
In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations seek to receive construction specifications for connecting a new service pipe to water and sewage pipes or heat pipes, the agreement of the municipal administration institution must be received.
CHAPTER IV. ARRANGEMENT OF CITY ROADS AND STREAMS
Article 31 (Planned arrangement of city roads and stream)
The state of arrangement of city roads and streams is an important yardstick for showing the cultural development level of the city. Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall command the true state of city roads and streams, and must arrange them in a planned way.
Article 32 (Division of responsibility for managing of city roads and streams)
City roads include things inside city territory such as streets, nature strips, footpaths, streetlights, bridges, tunnels, underground crossings, overground crossings, road protection safety facilities, road markers, and city streams include rivers, streams, brooks flowing inside city territory, and facilities for their protection and use. The management of city roads and streams shall be done by the municipal administration institution. However, the management of dedicated roads and important streams shall be done by the relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations.
Article 33 (Modernization of city roads)
State planning institutions, municipal administration institution, and authorities concerned shall pave roads and shall make bus and tramway stops to guarantee of the comfort of residents, shall construct overpass bridges, underground crossings, or overground crossings on roads where traffic is complex, and must install modern streetlights and road markers.
Article 34 (Maintenance and service of city roads)
Municipal administration institutions must maintain and service roads in time and must keep them clean. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must responsibly manage the sections of roads divided according to the principle of the management by square meter system. In cases where municipal administration institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations who have received a division of road management do work such as road maintenance, cleaning, or snow clearing, shall ensure that the relevant members wear high visibility vests so that accidents are not caused.
Article 35 (Operation of car washing facilities)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall hold and operate car washing facilities at the entrance of cities, and must pave designated sections on small roads adjoining paved roads. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens operating or holding transportation equipment must do cargo loading and car cleaning well, and must not mess up roads.
Article 36 (Use of asphalt roads)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens seeking to drive caterpillar vehicles on asphalt roads, or do construction on roads, shall receive the approval of the authorities concerned, and must restore the road to its original state at the time the construction ends.
Article 37 (City stream management)
Local political institutions, municipal administration institutions, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall build banks in required places in streams, and must normally do stream and riverbed digging, removal of water plants and garbage, the afforestation of protective forests for riverbanks, and maintenance and service for defective sections in facilities for protecting and using streams. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens shall preserve facilities for protecting and using streams, and must not do acts that cause inconvenience to their protection and management.
CHAPTER V. AFFORESTATION OF GARDENS
Article 38 (Extension of green surface area)
Afforesting gardens well and extending their surface area is important work to improve the living environment of people and sufficiently assure the conditions for their culture and relaxation. Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall develop designs for greening gardens in conformity with the requirements of the requirements and aims of people, and requirements of nature and environmental protection of the area, and shall increase the surface area of garden greening in a planned way to further manage cities and villages in a beautiful way.
Article 39 (Afforestation of roadside trees and nature strips)
Local political institutions and municipal administration institutions shall regulate road types, plant roadside trees, and must effectively afforest green areas with things such as live tree fencing, flowers, and grasses. The types of roadside trees may not be changed without the approval of the authorities concerned.
Article 40 (Management of parks and amusement parks)
Local political institutions and authorities concerned must manage large and small parks and amusement parks in different places in cities and villages and manage them well, and must normally operate them. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not do acts that cause inconvenience to the administration and operation of parks and amusement parks.
Article 41 (Management of zoos and botanical gardens)
Municipal administration institutions and authorities concerned must manage zoos and botanical gardens oriented to animals and plants of our country, and must systematically increase their types.
Article 42 (Production of saplings, flower seedlings)
Municipal administration institutions shall increase the production of saplings and flower seedlings and must assure demand for them. Agricultural guidance institutions and authorities concerned must assure the land required for the production of saplings, flower seedlings, and flower seeds.
Article 43 (Management of trees, flowers, grass)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall water trees, flowers, and grass so that they can grow well, must eliminate pests, and must do weeding and tree pruning in the correct season.
Article 44 (Management of garden areas)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not break off flowers and plants inside garden areas, and must not damage facilities installed in those places. Trees may not be cut down and things like grass may not be mown inside garden areas without the approval of the authorities concerned.
CHAPTER VI. BEAUTIFYING THE CITY
Article 45 (Management of surroundings of buildings and facilities)
The work of beautifying the city is an important task of the cultural revolution before the municipal administration sector. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens shall cleanly arrange the surroundings of the buildings and facilities they are using, and must manage them well.
Article 46 (“Month of Beautifying the City” and “Day of Beautifying the City”)
The State shall make April and October the “Month of Beautifying the City”, and every first Sunday of the month the “Day of Beautifying the City”, to intensively do the work of beautifully managing and cleaning streets and villages.
Article 47 (Treatment of garbage)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall install rubbish tips and slop buckets in required places to take away garbage in time, and must recover and use useful materials within it. Citizens must throw garbage in the rubbish tip or slop buckets without fail.
Article 48 (Arrangement of planning)
Municipal administration institutions must organize planning arrangement work such as flowerbed arrangement, children’s playground management, and digging ditches in a planned way.
Article 49 (Management of culture and relaxation facilities and public hygiene facilities)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall have culture and relaxation facilities in the surroundings of bus and tramway stops, theatres, and movie theatres; shall cleanly manage public hygiene facilities in home planning and in the surroundings of public places such as parks, amusement parks, plazas, and schoolyards, and must manage them in a culturally hygienic manner.
Article 50 (Painting, installation of decorations on buildings, facilities, transportation methods)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall paint buildings and facilities so that they contrast against each other, and must paint faded buildings, facilities, and transportation methods in time. In places like streets, promenades, and parks shall be installed decorations such as streetlights, electric decorative lights, direction boards, signs, and statues, and they must be normally serviced. In cases where things like telephone lines or electricity lines are sought to be extended inside the city, the approval of local political institutions must be received.
Article 51 (Prevention of harmful gases, dust)
Enterprises causing harmful gases and dust to occur during the production process must have gas and dust filtration facilities and normally operate them, and must not let out harmful gases and dust to residential districts. Wheeled vehicles that expel more harmful gases than the standards may not be driven in the city, and substances that smoke, such as leaves, may not be set on fire in the central district of the city.
Article 52 (Management of boiler operation facilities)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that operate boilers must have coal warehouses, coal ash gathering sites, and coal ash collection facilities, so that coal dust and coal ash do not get swept away or washed away in rainstorms.
Article 53 (Management of cremation facilities)
Local political institutions and municipal administration institutions shall manage cremation facilities in a modern way, and shall administer and operate them in a culturally hygienic manner. Graves may only be used in designated areas approved by the authorities concerned, and old gravesites may be cleaned up.
CHAPTER VII. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION WORK
Article 54 (Basic requirements of guidance and control for municipal administration work)
Doing guidance and control for municipal administration work correctly is the foundational way for thoroughly implementing the municipal administration policy of the State. The State shall strengthen guidance and control to improve municipal administration work.
Article 55 (Duties of central municipal administration institution)
Guidance for municipal administration work shall be done by the central municipal administration guidance institution under the standardized guidance of Cabinet. The central municipal administration guidance institution must normally command and guide municipal administration work for the whole country.
Article 56 (Registration of buildings, facilities, residential district land)
Local political institutions must correctly register buildings, facilities, and residential district land within the jurisdictional area. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must register the buildings, facilities, and residential district land managed on their own with the local political institution within the period determined. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens using buildings and facilities owned by the State or by organizations must pay the designated usage fee.
Article 57 (Use of residential district land)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations seeking to use residential district land must receive the approval of the authorities concerned. In home blocks, sanitary protection zones, parks, amusement parks, zoos, and botanical gardens may not be constructed buildings that are not related to residents’ standard of life or not planned in the subject design.
Article 58 (Inspection of subject construction)
Municipal administration institutions and authorities concerned shall correctly calculate increasing demands and abilities for homes, public buildings, and facilities to interconnect it to the basic construction plan, and must responsibly do interim inspections for subject construction. Buildings and facilities that do not have planning arrangements, or have not passed pre-delivery inspection, may not be handed over or taken over.
Article 59 (State benefits for municipal administration workers)
The State shall give different benefits to municipal administration workers who have done meritorious deeds in building and facilities protection management work and receive the high respect and love of residents, including the conferment of a title of honour.
Article 60 (Guarantee of conditions for municipal administration work)
State planning institutions and resources supply institutions must preferentially supply the facilities and resources required for municipal administration. Labour, facilities, resources, and funds in the municipal administration sector may not be used for different purposes.
Commerce institutions must normally sell required resources such as cement and glass, and tools, for small maintenance of building.
Article 61 (Supervision and control for municipal administration work)
Supervision and control work for municipal administration work shall be done by the municipal administration supervision institution and relevant supervision and control institutions. The municipal administration supervision institution and relevant supervision and control institutions must strictly supervise and control the state of protection and management of buildings and facilities.
Article 62 (Suspension, demolition of subject construction, damage compensation)
Subject construction conducted in violation of the order of municipal administration shall be suspended or demolished, and a person who has entered a building without authorization shall be expelled from the building. In cases where buildings or facilities have been destroyed or damaged, they shall be restored and the given damage shall be compensated.
Article 63 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens who have used labour, facilities, resources, and funds for municipal administration for different uses, or have caused grave consequences to the protection and management of buildings and facilities, shall have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 19 October 2020