Gwangju City Councilor Lee Myung-no: "The 'Landfill Promotion' for Pungam Lake Water Quality Improvement Is a Misguided Administration"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A claim has been raised that Gwangju Metropolitan City's plan to "landfill" for improving the water quality of Pungam Lake is a misguided administrative action.

According to the Gwangju City Council on the 28th, Councilor Lee Myung-no criticized Gwangju City for not reflecting the opinions of citizens during his 5-minute free speech at the 3rd plenary session that day.

He also urged the acceptance of the improvement plan decided through the residents' consultative body and requested Mayor Kang Ki-jung and Gwangju City officials to be prepared to adopt the water quality improvement measures for Pungam Lake that residents desire.

Gwangju City and Bitgoeul Central Park Development Co., Ltd. presented a plan in July to improve the water quality of Pungam Lake, included in the Central Park District 1 project site, by landfilling part of the lake bottom to reduce the depth from a maximum of 6 meters to about 1.5 to 2.5 meters.

In this regard, residents and environmental groups have argued that there has been insufficient detailed review of the environmental impact when drilling new wells.

They pointed out uncertainties regarding whether water quality issues such as downstream flooding and green algae caused by groundwater inflow can be definitively resolved by discharging water through drainage channels.

Furthermore, many residents expressed opposition to the water quality improvement plan during several public hearings held.

However, since these opinions were not actively considered, residents are currently conducting a signature campaign opposing the landfill of Pungam Lake.

Councilor Lee stated, "The consultative body, composed of all district and city council members from the constituency and 35 resident representatives from all adjacent neighborhoods, has been fully formed and will soon be operational."

Additionally, Councilor Lee proposed a water quality improvement plan that divides Pungam Lake into the main lake, Lake 1, and a small purification lake, Lake 2, where water purified in Lake 2 is continuously circulated by being exchanged with Lake 1.