"Ministry of National Defense Demands Military Consultations Without Legal Basis... Housing Construction Project Delayed"

Board of Audit and Inspection Announces Status of Regulatory Reform Implementation
Central Government Ministries and Local Governments Caught Abusing Regulations

The Ministry of National Defense was cautioned by the Board of Audit and Inspection for abusing regulations without legal grounds, such as demanding military consultations that delayed housing construction projects and the city of Naju delaying the approval of the SRF (Solid Refuse Fuel) combined heat and power plant, resulting in the suspension of the plant's operation.

On the 18th, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the "Major Audit Results on the Promotion of Regulatory Reform including Improvement of Passive Administration," stating that it had focused on inspecting the abuse of regulations and passive work attitudes by central government ministries and local governments.

The audit revealed that regarding the housing construction project in District A, Paju City, the Ministry of National Defense initially informed the project implementer in September 2019 that the project site was not a military facility protection zone and thus not subject to military consultation under the Military Base Act, but later reversed its response. It was confirmed that the Ministry continued to demand military consultations without legal grounds, including notifying Paju City to consult with the relevant military units on operational restrictions.

In particular, although the Ministry of National Defense reviewed that winning a lawsuit would be difficult due to the lack of legal grounds for the military consultation demands, it filed cancellation lawsuits and requested suspension of execution in November 2021 regarding the approval of sales reports, causing disruptions such as the suspension of sales.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated, "We have notified the Minister of National Defense and the Mayor of Paju City to establish measures to manage and supervise so that the legitimate property rights of the people are not restricted."

Additionally, it was confirmed that Naju City unlawfully delayed the approval of the SRF combined heat and power plant, restricting the normal progress of the project.

Korea District Heating Corporation built the Naju SRF combined heat and power plant in Naju, the Gwangju-Jeonnam Innovation City, in 2017, but due to delays in approval by Naju City, the plant's operation was suspended until July 2022. The Naju SRF plant was completed but was unable to operate normally for about 4 years and 7 months, causing disruptions in proper waste processing as SRF produced in Gwangju was not used.

Furthermore, it was confirmed that although Company B completed a factory in November 2021 in Ulleung County to manufacture and sell Yongcheon water, used as a drinking spring water source, the Ministry of Environment has inconsistently interpreted the Water Supply Act, preventing the factory from operating to date.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups was found to have re-delegated the issuance of mobile Onnuri gift certificates without legal grounds and granted online gift certificate sales rights to companies without seller qualifications under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, according to the audit results.

[Image source=Yonhap News]