Mayor Kim Kyungil Holds Meeting on Goyang City Water Main Leak
Apologizes to Affected Residents and Discusses Preventive Measures
Kim Kyungil, Mayor of Paju City, held a citizens' meeting on the 18th at the Unjeong Happiness Center Multipurpose Hall regarding the recent large-scale water outage incident. During the meeting, he explained the circumstances of the incident and the response measures, listened directly to residents' inconveniences and suggestions, and outlined plans for comprehensive improvements going forward.
Kim Kyungil, Mayor of Paju City, is holding a citizens' meeting on the 18th at the Unjeong Happiness Center Multipurpose Hall regarding the recent large-scale water outage incident. Photo by Paju City
The meeting was attended by about 70 people, including relevant Paju City officials, Moon Sukjoo, Head of the Water Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation, representatives of apartment complexes affected by the outage, and local residents.
In his opening remarks, Mayor Kim stated, "As mayor, I deeply apologize for the significant inconvenience and anxiety this water outage has caused our citizens," and added, "Today's gathering is not merely an informational session, but an opportunity to hear citizens' voices directly and to establish practical measures to prevent recurrence."
During the meeting, residents who had experienced actual damage due to the water outage and water quality instability expressed a wide range of opinions. They pointed out issues such as decreased water pressure in high-altitude and end-of-pipeline areas, the occurrence of turbid water in certain regions, and structural vulnerabilities due to insufficient reservoir capacity, and requested fundamental improvement measures. Additionally, residents noted that while Korea Water Resources Corporation provided bottled water and water trucks during the outage, the supply was far from sufficient for drinking and daily use, and that the standards and procedures for compensation remain unclear.
Lack of an effective information delivery system was also highlighted as a major issue. Residents requested the establishment of a real-time information sharing system among Korea Water Resources Corporation, the city hall, and apartment complexes.
A representative from Korea Water Resources Corporation explained the causes of the incident, the emergency restoration process, and the timing of supply resumption, noting that an internal investigation is currently underway. Regarding compensation, the representative stated, "We will work with Paju City to resolve residents' inconveniences as quickly as possible."
Regarding structural issues raised by some residents, such as the failure to act on requests to open valves and insufficient prior coordination with Paju City, the representative said, "We will improve our internal work guidelines to communicate in advance with affected local governments and take steps to prevent such incidents from recurring."
Paju City announced its intention to cooperate with Korea Water Resources Corporation to ensure that responsible compensation and measures to prevent recurrence, based on the feedback received at the meeting, are implemented promptly.
Additionally, the city plans to use this incident as an opportunity to completely overhaul its emergency response guidelines, establish a mandatory coordination system to be activated in emergencies, and strengthen communication with citizens.
In his closing remarks, Mayor Kim said, "Each and every opinion shared by citizens today points us in the direction we must correct. We will respond responsibly to the very end."
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