Police Complaint Filed Over False Address Registrations
Site Selection Process Halted Amid Investigation
City to Review Possibility of 'Conditional Re-Announcement'
The area of Samgeo-dong in Gwangsan-gu, selected as the optimal candidate site by the Site Selection Committee for the Gwangju Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility. Provided by Gwangju City
On September 4, the Gwangju City government announced, "We plan to file a police complaint for obstruction of work against those suspected of making false address registrations in the Samgeo-dong area of Gwangsan-gu, which was selected as the optimal candidate site for the resource recovery facility, as well as against the site applicants." This measure is in response to the Gwangsan Police Station referring the false address registration case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.
Last August, during the third round of public recruitment for the resource recovery facility site, the city confirmed 'Samgeo-dong in Gwangsan-gu' as the optimal candidate site through a review by the Site Selection Committee. The review targeted four locations that met the application requirement of obtaining consent from more than 50% of heads of households actually residing within 300 meters of the site boundary, as recorded in the resident registration.
At that time, the Samgeo-dong area in Gwangsan-gu met the application requirement, with 48 out of 88 households giving their consent (over 50% approval). However, the police recently investigated some of the consenting heads of households on suspicion of false address registration and referred the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.
As a result, the city has decided to immediately suspend all subsequent administrative procedures related to site selection and will file a police complaint for obstruction of work against those suspected of making false address registrations, who are deemed responsible for causing this situation. The city also plans to file a complaint against the site applicants, as they are considered to bear related responsibility as well.
Additionally, since the investigation and judicial proceedings may be prolonged, the city will conduct a thorough legal and institutional review to determine whether a 'conditional re-announcement' is possible.
Jung Hyun-yoon, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau, stated, "Since the site selection for the resource recovery facility is being pursued through a public recruitment process, public trust is of utmost importance. We will do our best to ensure that this project proceeds fairly and transparently."
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