Boryeong City Built Spring Water Facility on Private Land... "Unaware for 30 Years"

The City Makes Belated Multi-Billion Won Purchase Following Court Mediation
Citizens Say, "Negligence at Its Worst, Those Responsible Must Be Held Accountable"

Boryeong City Hall Exterior View

It has been revealed that Boryeong City in South Chungcheong Province has used privately owned forest land as a site for public facilities for several decades without the consent of the landowners.

The city was found to have created and operated public facilities without even accurately identifying when the facilities were established, leading to criticism of "sloppy, desk-bound administration."

Furthermore, although the city belatedly purchased the land for several hundred million won following a court mediation recommendation, citizens criticized the move, stating, "They covered up the mistake with taxpayers' money."

According to an Asia Economy investigation on October 13, Boryeong City installed and used various public facilities for decades-including a spring water site, paving blocks, outdoor exercise equipment, concrete pavement, benches, information signs, and streetlights-on a forest lot at 3-1, San, Jukjeong-dong (28,056㎡).

However, it was revealed that the land is jointly owned by private individuals, and the city did not obtain permission from the landowners to use it.

Moreover, the city had been imposing property taxes on the land without realizing it was occupying it without authorization.

In 2023, the joint owners, identified as Mr. A and Mr. B, filed a lawsuit against Boryeong City for "land restitution and facility removal." In July of last year, the court recommended mediation, ordering Boryeong City to pay over 500 million won and purchase the land.

In accordance with the court's decision, the city included the related costs in this year's second supplementary budget and purchased the forest land.

Regarding this, one resident commented, "The fact that the city has used the land for decades without knowing when or why the facilities were built is the height of negligence," adding, "This is a typical example of desk-bound administration that ignored on-site management and property rights verification procedures."

Another resident said, "In the end, the city used taxpayers' money to resolve its mistake," emphasizing, "Those responsible must be held accountable, and measures must be put in place to prevent recurrence."

In response, a city official explained, "Although we cannot determine the exact time the facilities were built, according to the village head, it has been about 30 years. The public facilities have been listed in the management register since 2016, but it is unclear whether permission to use the private land was obtained."

Another city official stated, "We were unaware that it was private land due to improper work handover."