27 Years on the Road Bridge... Occupancy Fee is 0 Won
Unauthorized Use of 3 National Land Parcels Also a Problem
Golf Balls Flying onto the Road... Safety Threatened
[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Chang-won] Ora Golf Course, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province’s first golf course, is seriously problematic as it has been occupying city-owned roads and state-owned land without permission for a long time, yet usage fees have not been properly collected.
Bridge on City-Owned Road Used for 27 Years
According to Jeju City and Ora Golf Course on the 8th, the city road ‘Ora Nam-ro’ runs through the east course of Ora Golf Course. The golf course installed a bridge over this road to allow passage. When occupying a city road like this, a usage fee must be paid. However, since the bridge was installed about 27 years ago, no usage fee has ever been paid or charged.
It appears that the installation of the bridge was not reported to the city or province, making it difficult to confirm the exact installation year. However, satellite images suggest it was built around 1994. Without installation approval and permits for the bridge, it could be considered an unauthorized illegal bridge. Regarding this, Jeju Provincial Office and City Hall acknowledged that usage fees have not been charged but could not provide clear evidence about the bridge permit. A Jeju City road management team official said, “It is definitely a structure that should be charged. We do not know why usage fees have not been charged. We will charge immediately.” An Ora Golf Course official explained, “If the city hall had charged usage fees, we would have paid them faithfully. Since it was never charged, we did not pay.”
Safety management of the bridge is also an issue. Corrosion on the bridge deck is visible to the naked eye, but the golf course has only conducted one internal safety inspection in 2001. The city road management team stated, “We will conduct a joint safety inspection in consultation with the golf course according to relevant laws.”
Unauthorized Occupation of 3 out of 21 State-Owned Land Parcels
Cart road built by Oragolf Course through unauthorized occupation of state-owned land. Photo by KAMCO
There are a total of 21 parcels of state-owned land managed by Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) within Ora Golf Course. Of these, the golf course has formal contracts for 7 parcels. Eleven parcels are forest land and excluded from leasing. However, the remaining 3 parcels are used without any contract as golf cart roads and practice areas, requiring action.
In this regard, KAMCO issued a prior notice on the 16th of last month to Ora Golf Course, which occupied state land without permission, imposing a compensation fee of 5.25 million KRW. The amount was calculated considering a 5-year statute of limitations for compensation fees and converting 5% of the official land price into an annual lease fee. Regarding why the golf course was able to obtain permission despite the lax lease contracts for state land, a provincial urban regeneration team official explained, “Acquisition of state land is a principle for golf course approval, but at the time of development, the golf course area was approved as a sports facility development zone, so the golf course approval was granted even though state land existed.” Ora Golf Course explained, “We used the area around exhumed graves and the ranch access road without knowing it was state land.”
Road Where Golf Balls Fly... Residents’ Safety Threatened
‘Ora Nam-ro’ around Ora Golf Course is a road used by residents of 20 townhouse households nearby and employees of two companies for commuting. However, the golf course adjacent to the road is very close, and residents are raising safety concerns. The golf course created a safety zone with 40-meter-high protected trees and shrubs along the road boundary, but golf balls still occasionally fly onto the road.
Nearby residents said, “Other golf courses developed around the same time prevent accidents by installing safety fences,” urging Ora Golf Course to take active measures. In response, an Ora Golf Course official said, “We will establish safety measures as soon as possible.”
Ora Golf Course has been leased and operated by Golfzon County since the 1st of last month and recorded a profit of 4.4 billion KRW based on last year’s operations. It is one of the popular golf courses with excellent accessibility near Jeju Airport and downtown.
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