[2022 National Audit] "Gyeonggi-do Receives 10.5 Billion KRW Claiming to Manage Cultural Assets That Are Inaccessible"

Comprehensive Survey of 9,047 Unregistered Cultural Properties by Cultural Heritage Administration... 235 Canceled
221 Concentrated in Gyeonggi Province... 214 Located Within Military Bases
Assemblyman Baehyun Jin: "105 Billion Won Budget Taken Without Actual Project Implementation"

Gyeonggi Province has been accused of receiving 10.5 billion KRW in budget over the past five years by managing undesignated cultural assets within military bases, which are inaccessible, as cultural properties.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration's "Comprehensive Survey of Cultural Heritage Under Care Project" data released on the 11th by Bae Hyun-jin (People Power Party), a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the Cultural Heritage Administration conducted a full survey last month of 9,047 undesignated cultural assets in regions where local governments applied for management budget allocation. They canceled the management of 235 cultural assets that were difficult to manage or deemed unnecessary.

Of these cultural assets, 221, accounting for 94%, were concentrated in Gyeonggi Province. Among them, 214 were located within military bases inaccessible to civilians. These include the Mantle Porphyry Distribution Site in Jinchon-ri, Baengnyeongdo, Ungjin; Gwangam Dondae; Gudeunggot Dondae; Gapyeong Bongsuri Buncheong Ware Kiln Site; Gapyeong Seungan-ri Relic Distribution Site; Goyang Deok-i-dong Relic Distribution Site; and the tombs of Jo Jun-nam, Choi Yeo-gyeong, and Choi Hun in Byeokje-dong, Goyang.

At the National Assembly audit on the same day, Representative Bae pointed out, "The care project is conducted as a private consignment project," and criticized, "Gyeonggi Province applied for a large number of military base cultural assets that were practically inaccessible over the past five years and received 10.5 billion KRW in budget without actual project implementation." He added, "The Cultural Heritage Administration, which has failed to filter out these errors and has been providing national funds for years, is nothing more than an incompetent cash dispenser."

Representative Bae also condemned the cultural heritage care project as "a national tax leakage project used as an achievement of Moon Jae-in's job creation policy." In response, Choi Eung-cheon, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, promised a major shift, stating, "We will adjust the budget allocation criteria focusing on the number of cultural assets managed rather than the number of participants and strengthen supervision."

Representative Bae requested, "Please conduct a thorough investigation of the approximately 220 cases included during Lee Jae-myung's tenure as governor and verify where the executed budget was spent." Director Choi responded, "We will thoroughly verify the related details and report separately."