Im Seonghwa, Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member, "Public Facility Support Needed for Budget Savings"

As a result of the 2022 fiscal year settlement audit of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, it was found that approximately 59.421 billion KRW was carried over due to delays in completion timing and administrative procedures.

In addition, for projects under the jurisdiction of non-technical departments, a significant budget was unnecessarily spent due to delays in administrative procedures caused by issues such as lack of expertise in construction and architectural projects within the district office.

On the 26th, Im Seong-hwa, a Seo-gu council member (Gwangcheon-dong, Yudeok-dong, Chipyeong-dong, Sangmu 1-dong, Dongcheon-dong), announced on the 29th that she proposed the establishment of a Public Facilities Support Division to facilitate smooth progress of construction and architectural projects in non-technical departments during the 4th plenary session of the 1st regular meeting of the 312th assembly through a 5-minute free speech.

In her 5-minute speech, Councilor Im pointed out, "Among the 96 facility staff members in Seo-gu Office, 78% (73 people) are public officials at grade 7 or below, lacking sufficient experience to cope with rapidly changing situations and procedures in construction and architectural administrative tasks, and there is some deficiency in expertise."

She continued, "Although construction may inevitably be delayed beyond the schedule due to compliance with procedures, efforts by Seo-gu Office to minimize construction delays are absolutely necessary," adding, "This is because construction delays practically lead to a massive budget increase of tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of KRW."

She stated, "Before 2018, there were no architectural projects with design service costs exceeding 100 million KRW, but after 2018, the number surged to 16 cases. Although the Public Architecture Support Team supports construction tasks of non-technical departments, the current workforce is overloaded," emphasizing "the necessity of a Seo-gu type construction and architectural control tower that can immediately respond to complex and detailed administrative procedures by establishing a specialized department such as the ‘Public Facilities Support Division’ or ‘Public Architecture Team 2.’"

Furthermore, she proposed "the preparation and management of administrative work manuals for all departments" to enhance continuity and expertise in work. Councilor Im stressed, "This is essential for maintaining efficient work continuity during organizational restructuring, personnel transfers, and considering the large number of newly hired public officials in recent years."