2022 Sales Performance Totaling 9.2 Billion KRW... Upper 800 Million KRW → Lower 8.4 Billion KRW
Also Planned for Debt Relief and New Office Building Costs
[Asia Economy Reporter La Youngcheol] Since Gangwon Province Governor Kim Jin-tae established the 'direct sale policy by the province' for abandoned riverbed land within Gangwon Province, sales performance in the second half of last year increased more than tenfold compared to the first half.
Earlier, after taking office in the 8th term of local government last year, Governor Kim Jin-tae announced plans to stabilize the provincial finances through expenditure restructuring, stating, "The province will secure funds through the sale of abandoned riverbed public assets."
The governor's plan was to dispose of public assets with low utility value as administrative property, secure tax revenue, and use it to reduce provincial debt and cover the costs of constructing the new provincial government building.
According to the '2022 Sales Performance of Abandoned Riverbed Land' announced by Gangwon Province on the 30th, a total of 93 parcels covering 72,000㎡ were sold, with the sales amount totaling 9.2 billion KRW.
Of the sales amount, 91%, or 8.4 billion KRW, was achieved within five months after the establishment and implementation of the direct sale policy by the Gangwon Province Governor. Among these, the province's direct sales accounted for 21 parcels covering 15,000㎡, amounting to 2.1 billion KRW.
Before the policy implementation, sales of abandoned riverbed land within the province amounted to only 800 million KRW, but with the province directly conducting sales, there have been effects in generating tax revenue and resolving civil complaints.
Additionally, during the policy implementation process, it was found that many abandoned riverbed lands were occupied by elderly people, farmers, and groups vulnerable to administrative services.
Until now, the work related to abandoned riverbed land owned by the province was delegated to 18 cities and counties within the province, which only sold parcels upon civil applicants' purchase requests, resulting in somewhat poor sales performance.
However, when the province directly conducts sales, 100% of the sales proceeds are secured as provincial revenue, greatly enhancing tax revenue generation.
Accordingly, the province plans to promote direct sales targeting abandoned riverbed lands and long-term undisposed lands in cities and counties with no sales performance, and gradually expand the sales targets step by step.
Governor Kim Jin-tae of Gangwon Province stated, "Most applicants are elderly farmers who find it difficult to carry out the step-by-step administrative procedures from application to ownership transfer, and face significant inconvenience having to visit the provincial office from distant locations. Starting this year, if applicants wish, the responsible officials will be authorized to handle all administrative procedures on their behalf, providing customized one-stop administrative services."
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