Yeosu City Hall Annex Expansion Public Opinion Survey Sparks Rising Local Conflict

Citizen Countermeasure Committee Submits Petition to City Council Urging Joint Public Opinion Survey

City Council: "Important Policy Opinion Survey Decision... May Cause Further Conflict"

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Sim Kyung-taek] As the construction of the annex building of the Jeonnam Yeosu City Hall has caused local conflicts over more than a year due to opposing opinions, the Yeosu City Council decided to conduct a joint public opinion survey but then canceled it, escalating tensions within the region once again.

According to Yeosu City on the 25th, the Planning and Administration Committee of the Yeosu City Council recently held a meeting and decided not to proceed with the public opinion survey six months after approving the joint public opinion survey for the annex expansion of the main building at the 4th plenary session of the 210th extraordinary meeting held in April.

In response, the Citizens’ Countermeasure Committee for the Promotion of Office Integration held a press conference on the 22nd at the Yeosu City Hall briefing room to announce a “Statement Urging a Public Opinion Survey on the Annex Expansion of the Main Building,” and together with the Yeosu Residents’ Autonomy Council, submitted a “Petition Urging a Public Opinion Survey” to the Yeosu City Council with signatures from about 26,000 citizens.

They stated, “The recent decision by the Planning and Administration Committee is an act of deceiving Yeosu citizens and social organizations urging the public opinion survey,” adding, “The chairperson referred the matter to the standing committee to discuss how to proceed with the joint public opinion survey, not to decide whether to proceed or not. We cannot understand this decision at all and cannot trust the behavior of the Yeosu City Council.”

They urged, “Office integration is an urgent issue that must be resolved immediately to alleviate citizen inconvenience and improve administrative services, and it is a task that can no longer be postponed,” emphasizing, “The existing Yeoseo office should remain intact, and the construction of the Jungbu Health Center on the tennis court next to the City Council should be promoted together with the annex expansion of the main building to revitalize the Yeomun district and promote balanced regional development.”

They also expressed their intention to push for a recall of the city council chairperson and council members opposing the public opinion survey if the survey is not carried out.

The petition submitted to the Yeosu City Council allows the chairperson to decide whether to submit the petition to the plenary session within 10 days, excluding recess periods, by forming a relevant standing committee or a special petition review committee, or to submit the agenda to the plenary session within 7 days if requested by the chairperson or at least one-third of the total members after the decision.

Afterward, the results must be notified to the petitioner following the plenary session’s resolution.

Previously, Yeosu City planned to build an integrated office building to improve administrative efficiency and convenience for citizens, as the offices were scattered across eight locations. They decided to spend 39.2 billion KRW to expand a four-story annex behind the main building’s parking lot. However, residents of the old Yeosu area strongly opposed this, and the city council opposed it citing budget waste, causing ongoing conflicts.

Recently, the Planning and Administration Committee stated in a press release, “Deciding policies through public opinion surveys causes further conflicts rather than solutions, so the annex expansion public opinion survey should not be conducted.”

Kim Haeng-gi, chairperson of the Planning and Administration Committee, explained, “Our committee held three meetings and even an expert forum to thoroughly review the public opinion survey after the city government’s request. The city government’s claim that we opposed the survey from the beginning is not true.”

He added, “In cases where opinions are divided, the best approach is to take sufficient time and decide the direction through public discussion,” emphasizing, “Since many citizens are struggling due to COVID-19, it is more important to focus on overcoming the COVID crisis now.”

He also expressed regret, saying, “After the committee’s decision, Yeosu City issued a press release criticizing the city council and spreading false information that the meeting rules were ignored. Since the resolution has no legal binding force, claims that the standing committee violated the meeting rules are a misinterpretation of the rules.”

Meanwhile, the city council is reportedly planning to hold a closed-door meeting with all council members on the 26th to discuss the issue once again.

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Sim Kyung-taek simkt7@asiae.co.kr