Jung Jong-bok, Gijang County Governor, Urges 'Halt to Urban Planning Ordinance Amendment' with Another Solo Protest

Unfair Appeal Against Ordinance Amendment: 2nd Picket Protest

Gijang County Council Holds Press Conference Condemning Ordinance Amendment

On the morning of the 18th, Jeong Jong-bok, the mayor of Gijang-gun, strongly urged the suspension of the ordinance amendment while continuing a one-person protest at Busan City Hall against the 'Busan Metropolitan City Urban Planning Ordinance Amendment.'

Jung Jong-bok, the mayor of Gijang-gun, is urging the suspension of the 'Busan City Urban Planning Ordinance Amendment'.

This one-person protest is the second following the first protest held on the 15th. It was organized to appeal against the unfairness of the ordinance amendment, which reduces the authority of basic local governments over decisions and approvals related to urban planning facilities such as waste disposal facilities, and to repeatedly demand the suspension of the amendment.

On this day, Mayor Jeong emphasized that since the direct stakeholders of various undesirable facilities are local residents and basic local governments, it is essential for local residents to actively participate in the policy decision-making and implementation process.

He also strongly criticized the current ordinance, which excludes such participation and allows forced decisions on undesirable facilities, as not an improvement of deficiencies but rather a regression in the era of local autonomy.

Jeong Jong-bok, mayor of Gijang-gun, warned, “If this amendment passes the Busan City Council, the authority over policy decisions regarding various undesirable facilities will be vested in Busan City, severely undermining the opinions and decision-making rights of local residents,” adding, “If Busan City pushes forward with this anachronistic amendment, it will face strong opposition from the relevant local governments, including Gijang-gun.”

He further stated, “I earnestly request the Busan City Council to reject this ordinance, which embodies Busan City’s unilateralism, so that grassroots democracy representing local public sentiment can be realized.”

At 10 a.m. on the 18th, in the briefing room of the Busan City Council, Park Hong-bok, chairman of the Gijang-gun Council, and council members held a series of 'Press Conferences Condemning the Busan City Urban Planning Ordinance Amendment,' actively supporting the demand to halt the amendment while condemning the Busan City ordinance amendment.

Gijang County Council is holding a press conference in the briefing room on the 3rd floor of the Busan Metropolitan Council, urging the suspension of the amendment to the "Busan City Urban Planning Ordinance Partial Amendment Ordinance."