Justice Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party: "Kim Il-kwon, Yangsan Mayor, Clearly Clarify Road Privilege Suspicion in Front of Farmland"

The Justice Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party held a press conference in front of the Gyeongnam Police Agency on the 18th, raising allegations of preferential treatment related to the embankment road in front of farmland owned by Kim Il-kwon, mayor of Yangsan City, Gyeongnam.
[Image source=Justice Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] The Justice Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party held a press conference in front of the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Police Agency on the 18th, raising suspicions that the designation of the embankment management road in front of farmland owned by Kim Il-kwon, mayor of Yangsan City, Gyeongnam, as an access road was a preferential treatment carried out in violation of procedures.

They stated, “The location in question is a local stream area managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Gyeongsangnam-do, and it was originally designated as an embankment management road. However, one year after Mayor Kim took office, in 2019, it was designated as an access road following a building permit, and in 2020, the embankment expansion work was carried out only up to the farmland next to Mayor Kim’s property from the road access, not the entire road section. This can only be seen as preferential treatment for protecting private assets rather than measures to protect public assets.”

They also said, “Considering that the embankment road was expanded only up to the farmland owned by the mayor without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Land and Gyeongsangnam-do, the owners, this can only be viewed as a suspicion of preferential treatment.”

They continued, “The farmland owned by Mayor Kim received building permits in 2019 for a Category 2 Neighborhood Living Facility, and the adjacent farmland for a Category 1 Neighborhood Living Facility. The problem is that the road (owned by Gyeongsangnam-do) connected to the building’s access road is designated as a stream, so a stream occupancy permit must be obtained. However, according to confirmation with Gyeongsangnam-do, no stream occupancy permit has been issued from 2017 to the present.”

Finally, they said, “If this was used to increase the value of private assets by ignoring the basic stream plan’s strategic environmental assessment and violating the Stream Act, this is a clear case of preferential treatment. If the facts are clarified and illegality is revealed, it is a serious crime using one’s position and should be strictly punished.”

The farmland of 1,530㎡ that Mayor Kim purchased at auction in 1999 for 105,000 KRW per 3.3㎡ was previously traded at around 700,000 to 800,000 KRW per 3.3㎡, but after the designation of the access road and embankment expansion work, the price has soared to about 3,000,000 KRW.