[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] Civic groups have urged Gwangju City to conduct a special audit related to the private park special project for Central Park Zone 1 in Gwangju, which is facing the risk of collapse.
The Gwangju Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (hereinafter Gwangju CCJ) stated in a press release on the 14th, "Gwangju City should conduct a special audit regarding the reason why the 32 billion KRW performance bond agreement with Bitgoeul Central Park Development Co., Ltd., which is promoting the Central Park Zone 1 project, has expired and has not been extended to date, and the 13 billion KRW project performance bond was submitted by a third party contrary to the original agreement."
Gwangju CCJ said, "The performance bond agreement, which expired in January this year, has not been extended even after three months," adding, "Neglecting the safety device (performance bond agreement) that Gwangju City can confiscate if problems arise with the project operator during the project promotion process, and not requesting an extension, is a serious dereliction of duty and favoritism toward the operator."
Gwangju City recently issued a statement blaming the project operator, Bitgoeul Central Park Development, for failing to fulfill the obligation to submit the project performance bond and the performance bond agreement.
Regarding this, Gwangju CCJ criticized, "Gwangju City claims as if all the responsibility for the difficulties in the Central Park Zone 1 project lies solely with the operator and that the city has no responsibility at all," calling it "a case of Gwangju City turning a blind eye."
They also pointed out, "According to the agreement between Gwangju City and the operator, Bitgoeul Central Park Development must submit a project performance bond equivalent to 10% of the park construction project cost, which is 13 billion KRW. However, a third party, a landscaping company that signed the park construction contract, submitted the bond," adding, "This raises serious doubts about the validity of the project performance bond, but Gwangju City maintains that there is no problem with the bond's validity. This is a serious ethical dereliction by Gwangju City."
They continued, "Considering these issues, it is clear how complacent and irresponsible Gwangju City's administration is regarding Central Park Zone 1," and "It is even doubtful whether there are any project promotion goals, directions, or guidelines."
Gwangju CCJ urged, "Gwangju City should properly recognize the seriousness of the problem, conduct a special audit, and clearly reveal the truth."
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