Lee Honghee, Geochang County Council Member: "Does Building Structures Alone Lead to Development? Residents Concerned Over Excessive Projects"

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Geochang County in Gyeongnam is facing concerns from local politicians and residents as its financial resources are drying up, despite a backlog of projects that need to be addressed. Some point out that the county is in a situation where it must engage in a "fierce battle" to secure not only national funds but also county funds.

In a five-minute free speech during the 1st plenary session of the 281st temporary meeting of the Geochang County Council, Councilor Lee Honghee stated on the 31st that he had reviewed data on the financial status of major project sites worth more than 500 million KRW, aiming to highlight the excessive expansion of projects in both the 7th and 8th popularly elected administrations.

According to Councilor Lee, there are 88 major project sites with budgets exceeding 500 million KRW, and of the total project cost of 721.6 billion KRW, county funds account for 368.3 billion KRW, or 51%, surpassing half. Currently, 255.5 billion KRW has been executed, representing 35%, and it is known that a significant number of projects remain at the initial stage.

At the 1st plenary session of the 281st extraordinary meeting of the Geochang County Council, Councilor Lee Honghee is delivering a 5-minute free speech.

The budget to be covered from the second half of this year amounts to 465 billion KRW, of which 226.9 billion KRW, or 48%, is to be borne by the county, accounting for about 25% of this year's budget. By department, the analysis shows: Strategic Planning Office 10 projects, 61.5 billion KRW; Environmental Office 2 projects, 19.2 billion KRW; Construction and Transportation Division 11 projects, 18.3 billion KRW; Urban Architecture Division 11 projects, 25.1 billion KRW; and Happy Rural Division 23 projects, 16.8 billion KRW.

Projects with high county funding burdens include the Advanced General Industrial Complex (59.9 billion KRW), Crematorium Construction (17.4 billion KRW), Regional Vitality Town (16.1 billion KRW), Geoyeolsanseong Public Dementia-focused Senior Care Facility (11.3 billion KRW), Waryong District Agricultural Water Development Project (7.5 billion KRW), Urban Rotary Intersection Project (8.3 billion KRW), Dongsan Village Rural Space Creation Project (8.7 billion KRW), and the Second Sports Town Development (8.3 billion KRW), among others. Of the 88 projects, 27 have a county funding rate of 50% or more.

Furthermore, in 17 cases, the projects are funded 100% by the county, which, given Geochang County's financial situation, suggests that the projects are being pushed somewhat excessively.

Projects with a 100% county funding burden include: Advanced General Industrial Complex (59.9 billion KRW), Legal Town Development Project (18.6 billion KRW), Urban Rotary Intersection Development Project (8.3 billion KRW), Waryong District Agricultural Water Development Project (7.5 billion KRW), Geoyeolsanseong Access Road to National Route 3 Connection Construction (6 billion KRW), Daedong-ri Rotary Intersection Landscape Project (4.8 billion KRW), Gangnam Reservoir Water Supply Pipeline Installation (4.5 billion KRW), and the Shinywon, Daehyeon, Ungyang, Songsan, Gajo, and Byeongsan Village Creation Projects (2.6 billion KRW), among others.

Councilor Lee's analysis shows that county funds, which stood at 160 billion KRW in 2019, dropped to 80 billion KRW at the end of last year and further fell to 20 billion KRW as of June this year, leaving Geochang County's coffers nearly empty and unable to cover the financial burden of all pending projects.

In recent years, the status of public contest projects shows that 45 were selected in 2023, 57 in 2022, and 69 in 2021, demonstrating efforts to secure national and provincial funds. However, there is a pointed suggestion that it is necessary to objectively analyze whether these contest projects have truly benefited residents and contributed to county development, and if they have resulted in excessive burdens, a decision must be made to scale back the projects.

Councilor Lee Honghee stated, "If public contest projects continue, the financial burden on county funds alone could destabilize our finances. The county's population is 60,000, of which 18,959 are aged 65 or older, and simply increasing the number of buildings does not mean the county is developing." He added, "It is a crucial time for an appropriate analysis of the excessive projects of the 8th popularly elected administration."