[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Amid conflicts between public institutions and residents over the installation of city gas pipelines on state-owned land, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has mediated to enable the supply of city gas to island areas.
According to the ACRC on the 3rd, city gas pipelines for about 100 households residing on Geoje Island can now be installed on state-owned land. Under the State Property Act, state property is divided into administrative property and general property, and only administrative property land is eligible for city gas pipeline installation.
Accordingly, the agency managing the state-owned land had blocked the installation of city gas pipelines on land classified as general property. Residents of Geoje Island, having suffered inconvenience due to the long-term lack of city gas supply, filed a grievance complaint with the ACRC.
The state land management agency maintained that the local government of Geoje Island should purchase the relevant state-owned land and convert it into administrative property before granting permission for city gas installation.
In response, the ACRC provided a legal interpretation stating that it is reasonable for the agency to enter into a lease contract for the general property state-owned land for city gas installation purposes and continued negotiations. The agency accepted this and resolved the issue by leasing the state-owned land for city gas installation.
An Junho, Director of the Grievance Handling Bureau at the ACRC, said, "This case has set a clear precedent for the management of state-owned land and is expected to prevent many residents’ inconveniences in advance." He added, "We will continue to strive to proactively resolve citizens’ inconveniences through active communication and consultation with related agencies."
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