Gyeongnam Citizens' Sovereignty Alliance: "Changwon City Should Abandon Appeal After First Trial Loss in Ungdong 1 District"

The Gyeongnam Citizens' Sovereignty Alliance (formerly Changwon Economic Justice Practice Citizens' Alliance) demanded that Changwon City, which lost the first trial regarding the cancellation of the designation of the developer for the Ungdong 1 District development project in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, abandon its appeal.

On the 18th, the organization held a press conference at the Changwon City Hall Press Center and evaluated, "The first trial result is a case that blatantly shows the problems of Changwon City's administration, which ignores citizens' interests and supports speculative companies, and the resulting damage to city and provincial residents."

Jeong Si-sik, the Standing Representative of the Gyeongnam Citizens' Sovereignty Alliance (center), is urging Changwon City to abandon its appeal after losing the first trial regarding the cancellation of the designation of the developer for the Ungdong 1 District development project in Jinhae-gu, Changwon City. Photo by Lee Se-ryeong

They stated, "Changwon City must transparently explain to citizens the decision-making process that led to the lawsuit, the reasons for losing the administrative lawsuit, and the progress thereof," and added, "There must be accountability for the project delay and the revocation of the developer status, as well as an apology from the mayor of Changwon."

They continued, "This lawsuit is solely for the benefit of the private developer," and claimed, "Through a bizarre lawsuit in which the developer participated as a litigation assistant, the developer was given significant special favors in pursuit of their interests."

Furthermore, they said, "Gyeongnam Province must thoroughly audit the decision-making process of filing a lawsuit that has no practical benefit, wasting taxpayers' money and causing enormous damage to the normalization of the project, and hold those responsible accountable."

They also stated, "The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority must responsibly proceed with and complete the Ungdong 1 District project, which has not been completed for 16 years, in accordance with laws and principles."

The organization demanded, "As the person responsible for this situation, the mayor of Changwon must apologize and take measures to prevent recurrence," and warned, "If this behavior continues, we will file charges against the mayor of Changwon for breach of trust, abuse of authority, and neglect of duty, and may also launch a campaign for his resignation."

Jeong Si-sik, the standing representative, said, "Although compensation measures were provided for the loss of fishing rights due to the project, the fishermen who have no land disposal rights and only pay taxes are still shedding tears of blood," and added, "Their suffering should not be ignored, and lawsuits for the benefit of the developer should not be pursued."

Development site of Ungdong 1 District, Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. Provided by Changwon Special City

The Jinhae Ungdong 1 District development project is a project to create accommodation, leisure, and recreational facilities over an area of 2.25 million square meters in the Sudodong area of Jinhae-gu, Changwon City. Construction began in November 2013, but progress stopped in December 2017 after only a golf course was established.

Earlier, the Free Economic Zone Authority (GEFA) found that the joint developers, Changwon City and Gyeongnam Development Corporation, were responsible for the long delay in the project and on March 30 last year, issued a cancellation of the designation of the developer and revoked the permission to use land and other assets before the completion inspection.

Changwon City filed a lawsuit in May of the same year, claiming that the GEFA's disposition was unjust, and lost in the first trial held on the 7th at the Busan District Court's 1st Administrative Division.

At the time of the lawsuit, Changwon City stated that after reviewing the reasons for canceling the GEFA's disposition, it had been promoting the project since 2008 with various approvals as the developer, and considering the ratio of the amount invested so far to the total project cost, it was necessary to examine whether there were any problems in the management and supervision by GEFA, the designating authority, and to clarify the degree of responsibility of related agencies for the long-term stagnation, which led to filing the lawsuit.

The city plans to decide soon whether to appeal after analyzing the first trial judgment and conducting internal discussions.