Special Award for County's Cremation Facility Project and More
Geochang County in South Gyeongsang Province announced on the 16th that it received a Special Award in the first Rebooting Local Era Awards competition.
This competition was held to discover and recognize outstanding organizations and individuals who have contributed to addressing local extinction and revitalizing regional vitality. Awardees were selected in four categories: local administrative innovation, industrial and job creation, youth and family settlement, and local cultural vitality, as well as a special award.
The county was recognized with the Special Award for its innovative and creative contribution in recognizing the need for the construction of a cremation facility-a typical NIMBY facility-and promoting a resident participation-based site selection process, which enabled the selection of the optimal location and preemptively prevented resident conflicts.
Group photo of the first Rebooting Local Era Special Award for the construction of the Geochang County Cremation Facility.
Additionally, the county shared the lessons learned from six years of conflict and resolution regarding the Geochang Detention Center, emphasizing that resident participation from the policy decision stage is the key to conflict prevention and the fastest implementation, and made this know-how public.
Unlike other local governments that are facing difficulties in constructing cremation facilities due to site selection issues, Geochang County was evaluated as a model case for selecting candidate sites in a short period through active resident participation and communication.
During the award ceremony's presentation of outstanding cases, the county detailed the background of the cremation facility project, which was initiated to resolve the inconvenience caused by the lack of such facilities in the northwestern region of South Gyeongsang Province, the process of overcoming anticipated conflicts and opposition together with residents, the achievements of the project, and the expected effects.
County Governor Koo Inmo stated, "All local governments recognize the necessity of cremation facilities, but many projects are derailed due to severe resident conflict and opposition. By coming together with our residents to find solutions, we were able to achieve positive results."
Meanwhile, Geochang County plans to begin construction of the crematorium on the 17th, complete it by December next year, and have it operational by 2027, focusing administrative resources on the project.
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