Seocheon County Pushes New Government Office for Election, Claims "No Responsibility" Despite 2.7 Billion Won Loss

No Criminal Charges Despite Audit and Arbitration Findings
Council Passes Budget Without Access to Key Documents

The claim by Seocheon County in South Chungcheong Province that it was "not responsible" for a structural accident during the construction of its new government office in 2020 has been proven false after five years.

Controversy is growing because, despite findings by both the Board of Audit and Inspection and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board that the construction was pushed forward for political purposes, no substantial accountability has been pursued.

According to coverage by Asia Economy on August 4, the county pressed ahead with construction of the new government office in 2020 without reinforcing the soft ground, resulting in damage to 106 foundation piles.

This incident was caused by the county's decision to force Chungnam Development Corporation to shorten the construction period in order to meet the move-in deadline of March 2022, ahead of the local elections.

In fact, on July 2, the Arbitration Board pointed out that "Seocheon County pressured the corporation to ensure move-in so that the county governor could run for a third term," and ruled that Seocheon County must compensate Chungnam Development Corporation 2.44 billion won. Including delayed interest, the total loss amounts to 2.7 billion won.

More than 1.4 billion won in additional construction costs were incurred, and the construction period was delayed by over a year. However, the Board of Audit and Inspection only issued a "warning" to six officials from Seocheon County and Chungnam Development Corporation, without filing any criminal charges or seeking indemnity.

The problem is that the audit results and the Arbitration Board's ruling were not shared during the Seocheon County Council's Budget and Accounts Committee review.

On August 1, the county council approved a revision to the fund management plan that included the 2.7 billion won loss, but criticism has been raised that the budget passed without substantial review.

Council member Lee Gangseon stated, "Pushing ahead with construction while ignoring the soft ground was a clear administrative failure," and argued, "Since Chungnam Development Corporation also accepted the unreasonable order, responsibility should be clearly determined through a civil lawsuit."

A county official stated, "The ruling found that both the county and Chungnam Development Corporation bear some responsibility," and added, "We are currently reviewing internal measures to prevent recurrence."