Gwangyang City Decides to Close Swimming Pool and Bathhouse in Gwangyang Community Center

Decision of Gwangyang City Administrative Coordination Committee

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Heo Seonsik] Gwangyang City in Jeonnam announced on the 16th that it has decided to close the swimming pool and bathhouse at the Gwangyang Community Center.

The city conducted five rounds of bidding to find a new operator after the contract period with the private operator who managed the leisure sports facilities expired on November 30, 2022, but all bids failed.

[Photo by Gwangyang-si]

The reason for the failure up to the fifth round is analyzed to be that businesses gave up bidding due to concerns about unprofitability caused by surrounding conditions such as the opening of the Seonghwang Sports Center swimming pool.

Accordingly, Gwangyang City held the 1st Gwangyang City Administrative Coordination Committee on the 9th to decide the operation direction of the community center leisure sports facilities, and after reviewing the agenda, it was decided to close the leisure sports facilities and use them for other purposes.

The Administrative Coordination Committee is composed of the vice mayor (chairperson) and heads of departments and offices, and it deliberates and resolves major issues, policies, and administrative efficiency matters of the city.

The decisive factor for the closure decision of the leisure sports facilities was the failure of the bidding announcement to recruit operators after five rounds of bidding.

In addition, with the strengthening of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the aging of the community center facilities to prevent safety accidents in advance, the decrease in users due to the opening of the Seonghwang swimming pool, and administrative and budget waste caused by overlapping operation of swimming pools within the same living radius were major factors.

A Gwangyang City official said, “As a plan for utilization after the facility closure, the swimming pool will be used as a promotion center for the Hydrogen City Support Project, a national subsidy project, and the bathhouse will be remodeled and used as office space to alleviate the shortage of office space in the city hall.”

Meanwhile, the community center donated by POSCO was completed in 2001 and has been operated for 22 years. From 2001 to 2007, POSCO entrusted its operation for six years, and since 2008, Gwangyang City has been operating it directly.

Currently, the Gwangyang Employment Welfare Center, Traffic Information Center, ICT Innovation Square, Tourism Cooperation Center, Volunteer Center, and multipurpose hall are housed there, and various projects for citizens are being promoted.