Repeated Conflicts Ahead of the Dissolution General Meeting on the 19th
Seoul City, Regulations on Unpaid Bonuses Rendered Ineffective
Delegates of the reconstruction association for 'Raemian One Bailey' in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, have decided to award the association head a performance bonus of 1 billion KRW, sparking backlash from association members.
According to the maintenance industry on the 16th, the Banpo-dong Raemian One Bailey (Sinbanpo 3rd Complex and Gyeongnam Apartment) reconstruction association held a delegates' meeting on the 13th of this month and passed a motion to pay the association head a performance bonus of 1 billion KRW.
The reason given for the payment is to reward the association head's hard work and management achievements, as well as to cover litigation costs incurred during the association's operations.
The performance bonus payment is scheduled as an agenda item for the dissolution general meeting to be held on the 19th and is currently being resolved in writing by the association members.
However, some members oppose the payment, putting up several banners inside and outside the premises. The banners read, "What is this 1 billion KRW performance bonus?", "Wake up, rubber-stamp delegates," and "Association head gets 1 billion KRW, but the damage falls entirely on members and residents."
They point out that the association head has been legally punished for mismanagement of the association and the apartment, as well as for election fraud, arguing that awarding a performance bonus to someone who caused significant financial damage to the association is inappropriate.
There is also an argument that the association head already receives an annual base salary of 90 million KRW, which amounts to about 100 million KRW including bonuses, and therefore there is no justification for an additional 1 billion KRW incentive.
They are planning rallies to block the performance bonus payment and are demanding a comprehensive review of the association's management methods.
In fact, the redevelopment association around Bisan Elementary School district in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province (Pyeongchon Elproud), withdrew plans to pay the association head a performance bonus of 5 billion KRW after facing opposition from members.
On the other hand, the redevelopment association of Yongdu 5 District in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, passed a motion at last year's dissolution general meeting to pay the association head a performance bonus of 1.2 billion KRW, with a total of 3.29 billion KRW paid to executives as performance bonuses.
Seoul City revised the "Standard Administrative Work Regulations for Maintenance Project Associations" in 2015 to prohibit paying separate performance bonuses to association executives beyond salary and bonuses. However, since this is a non-binding recommendation, the practice of paying performance bonuses continues.
One Bailey is also embroiled in controversy over the public opening of internal facilities. Originally, One Bailey was designated as a special architectural zone on the condition of sharing various community facilities with the local community. These include 13 community facilities such as the sky community with views of the Han River, a community support center, a book caf?, a reading room, and a childcare center.
However, the Residents' Representative Meeting (Ipdaeui) attempted to reduce the scope of access for nearby residents, leading to the cancellation of the agreement with Seocho District Office, and consequently, the ownership transfer process has been halted. Seocho District Office judged that Ipdaeui violated the original agreement and canceled the transfer notice.
Among residents, there is dissatisfaction that this decision was made without sufficient discussion. Some residents believe that the conflicts surrounding the performance bonus controversy and the public opening issue stem from a lack of transparency in the association's management.
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