Chairman Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Mayor Heo Seong-mu of Changwon City. / Provided by Changwon City
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jucheol In] The livelihood issue of disappearing fishermen in the Jinhae area has been resolved after 24 years.
On the 18th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission held an on-site mediation meeting at the Jinhae Marine Solar Tower in Jinhae Marine Park, Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, to resolve complaints regarding livelihood measures for disappearing fishermen caused by the construction of the Busan New Port.
Approval agencies, project implementers, and private businesses including Gyeongsangnam-do, Busanjin-Haeundae Free Economic Zone Authority, Changwon City Gyeongnam Development Corporation, and Jinhae Ocean Resort, as well as fishermen's organizations such as the Jinhae Livelihood Measures Association and Uichang Livelihood Measures Association, signed a mediation agreement on the supply of livelihood measure land.
According to the agreement, Changwon City will sell part of the city-owned land in the Ungdong 1 district at the price desired by the disappearing fishermen. Additional costs such as land reclamation and soft ground treatment will be mutually settled between the fishermen and the private developer of Ungdong 1 district, Jinhae Ocean Resort.
They will sell 34,000 pyeong each to the Jinhae Livelihood Measures Association and the Uichang Livelihood Measures Association, totaling 68,000 pyeong (approximately 220,000 square meters).
In June 1997, the government signed an agreement on the construction of Busan New Port with Gyeongnam Province, Busan City, and local fisheries cooperatives, which included provisions to prepare separate livelihood measures for fishermen in addition to compensation for loss of fishing grounds.
Based on this, in 2009, the former Jinhae City (now Changwon City), the Disappearing Fishermen Livelihood Measures Committee, and Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative signed an agreement recognizing the rights of disappearing fishermen on part of the Jinhae Ungdong district land reclaimed with dredged soil from the new port construction.
In 2014, Changwon City included the sale of part of the city-owned Ungdong 1 district area to fishermen in the development implementation plan for the Ungdong district.
However, the fishermen wanted to purchase the land at a low price, while Changwon City had to proceed with the sale process according to legal standards, resulting in conflicting positions and difficulty finding a solution.
Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-moo said, "I feel regretful and apologetic for the administrative reality that ignored the fishermen's difficult situation for more than 20 years and failed to prepare livelihood measures. Although there were considerable pains and difficulties until this mediation agreement was made, I believe a good outcome was achieved through the generous concessions and magnanimous decisions of all institutions."
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