Myeongno Lee, Gwangju City Council Member, on "Rental Contract Controversy at Buk-gu Home Care Center"

“Social Service Agency, Conflict with Building Owner... Concerns Over Budget Waste”

Lee Myung-no, Gwangju City Council Member

Concerns have been raised that Gwangju Social Service Agency did not go through the contract termination process with the previous building owner during the relocation of the Buk-gu Comprehensive Home Care Center in May this year, resulting in the deduction of five months' rent and maintenance fees from the deposit for the period from June to October.

On the 5th, Lee Myung-no, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Seo-gu 3), pointed out issues related to the lease contract of the Buk-gu Comprehensive Home Care Center of the Gwangju Social Service Agency during the administrative audit of the Gwangju Social Service Agency.

The Social Service Agency integrated the existing comprehensive home care centers in the Buk-gu, Gwangsan, and Seo-gu areas into one and secured an LH building for free lease for 10 years, setting up an office in Baegun-dong, Nam-gu. However, legal action has been anticipated due to issues arising from the termination of the lease contract and restoration of the original state of the previous Buk-gu Comprehensive Home Care Center.

The building used by the Social Service Agency since 2020 had its contract expiration in October 2022, but conflicts arose as the extension contract was not properly arranged along with the relocation plan.

The Social Service Agency explained that they attempted to resolve the contract termination with the previous building owner through meeting requests, sending certified letters, and dozens of phone calls, but the building owner avoided these efforts, causing the problem.

Councilor Lee stated, "If this continues, even though the relocated space is leased for free, the deposit for the previous space might not be returned along with the maintenance fees," and added, "I am concerned that insufficient prior legal review may lead to waste of public funds."

In response, Kim Dae-sam, head of the Gwangju Social Service Agency, said, "We will strive to handle public assets according to legal procedures as much as possible," and added, "We are currently preparing for litigation with legal counsel and plan to review lease-related issues of affiliated centers to prevent such problems from recurring."