One-Sided Work Orders Also Criticized in Administration
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Shim Cheol-ui, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party of Korea·Seo-gu 4), criticized that the autonomy of Gwangju city’s invested and endowed institutions must be guaranteed, and unilateral administrative orders should be avoided.
On the 13th, during the 311th extraordinary session’s administrative inquiry, Councilor Shim pointed out, “Gwangju city’s endowed institutions have fallen not to exist for the welfare and public interest of residents but as agencies for the local government’s responsibility shifting and evasion.”
Gwangju city received a notice from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on March 20, 2020, regarding the regional selection contest for the Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center construction project. It is known that the eligibility criteria for the contest specified that the applicant must be a local government capable of selecting a site for the project.
On March 26, 2020, Gwangju reported to the city council a project plan stating that the Korea Medical Robot Research Institute would be the executing agency and that the site of Techno Park (hereinafter TP), a Gwangju city endowed institution, Complex 2, would be used as the project site, and received approval.
Subsequently, on April 2 of the same year, the project plan was submitted to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and on July 3, it was reported that the project plan was approved and finalized.
However, there were no meetings or consultations with TP regarding the site that Gwangju city intended to use as the project site. The day after Gwangju city submitted the project plan to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, on April 3, 2020, it sent an official letter to TP approving the free use of the Complex 2 idle site, and on April 10, 2020, TP responded with an official letter expressing refusal, including considerations such as the necessity of board approval and the prerequisite of securing an alternative site.
Afterward, six months after the project plan approval, on January 15, 2021, Gwangju city sent a threatening official letter to TP, stating that even at the stage of ordering the detailed architectural design for the Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center, the project site had not been finalized, and demanding approval for free use of the site. In response, TP stated that on April 9, 2021, Gwangju Metropolitan City, the Medical Robot Research Institute, and Gwangju Techno Park approved the free lease of a 7,494㎡ (2,266 pyeong) site within Techno Park Complex 2 through a tripartite agreement.
Councilor Shim emphasized, “The eligibility criteria for the contest specify that the local government must be able to select the project site,” and added, “Reporting the project plan to the city council and submitting it to the Ministry of Health and Welfare without finalizing the project site is an act of deceiving both the council and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.”
He continued, “TP is likely in a difficult situation as it is hard to carry out the originally planned projects for Gwangju’s development due to the forced free lease of the site.”
He also pointed out, “There have been continuous verbal and tacit consultations regarding site use, but is it appropriate to handle such a serious matter administratively without a single official document?”
Furthermore, he claimed, “According to TP’s asset management regulations, the corporation’s assets can be leased free of charge if necessary for participation in projects implemented by the local government. However, Gwangju city is only the project’s supervising agency, not the project’s principal, so TP has no legal basis to lease the site free of charge.”
He added, “Since there is no legal basis to provide the site free of charge to the Korea Micro Medical Robot Foundation, a foundation corporation, it is presumed that the agreement was made as a tripartite agreement.”
In response, Yeom Bang-yeol, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau, said, “There was no intention to deceive the Ministry of Health and Welfare regarding the initial project promotion issues, and the project proceeded smoothly through consultations during the process,” and acknowledged, “There were flaws in the discussion process with TP during the project promotion.”
Mayor Kang Ki-jung said, “I am well aware of the Micro Medical Robot Development Support Center construction project,” and added, “I think the points you raised are reasonable criticisms.”
He also stated, “We will closely examine the relationship between the invested and endowed institutions and the city as you pointed out and strive to find improvement measures in the future.”
In response, Councilor Shim said, “Gwangju city is too busy making excuses in its answers,” and added, “Instead of pointing out the lax management and deterioration of invested and endowed institutions, unilateral administrative acts by the local government that exclude the autonomy of these institutions must be prohibited, and administrative actions based on unilateral notifications should be avoided.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
