Seonun District in Gwangju Grows Rapidly, but Public Infrastructure Remains ‘Lacking’

Council Member Kuk Kwanghyun: "Weaknesses in Social Infrastructure, Education, and Safety"
Lack of Community Facilities, Overcrowded Classrooms, and Missing School Zone Cameras
"Urgent Need to Secure Public Land and Implement Safety Measures"

Concerns have been raised that the rapid expansion of the Seonun District in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, has focused solely on scaling up without establishing the necessary infrastructure. Many public community facilities remain empty, schools are nearing capacity, and there are several areas without even school zone speed cameras.

Kuk Kwanghyun, Gwangsan District Council Member.

On December 5, Kuk Kwanghyun, Gwangsan District Council Member (Progressive Party, Songjeong 1·2-dong, Dosan-dong, Eoryong-dong, Samdo-dong, Donggok-dong, Bonryang-dong, Pyeong-dong), raised questions about the overall lack of public infrastructure and insufficient school zone safety measures in the Seonun District during the second plenary session of the 301st regular meeting of the Gwangsan District Council.

Council Member Kuk first pointed out, "The population of Eoryong-dong has reached about 36,000, and the number of youth and seniors is rapidly increasing, yet there are no public community facilities," highlighting the gap in essential social infrastructure. He argued that intergenerational disconnection is deepening and the local community is weakening, calling for the establishment of a multi-purpose community center that can be used by seniors, youth, and infants together. He also emphasized the need to secure land in advance before land prices rise and urged the district office to provide specific details on the current status of public land acquisition in Seonun District and future plans.

He continued by addressing educational environment issues. Council Member Kuk noted the structural limitation that there is only one elementary and one middle school in Seonun District, stating, "Even with the opening of Unsu Elementary School next year, the establishment of new middle and high schools is still far off." He pointed out that the increasing number of middle school students could result in 35 to 40 students per class, highlighting the problems of overcrowded classrooms and long commutes. He stressed the need to improve the educational environment through new school construction, school expansion, and better commuting measures.

School zone safety was also brought to the forefront. Council Member Kuk stated, "According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, four out of the top five locations for speeding violations are school zones, and two of these are in Gwangsan-gu," adding that "some schools, such as Songjeong Jungang Elementary School, do not have speed enforcement cameras installed, which poses a significant risk of accidents."

He expressed "serious concern" over the fact that the 2026 city, district, and police budgets do not include funding for new speed enforcement cameras, urging, "If Gwangju City and the police remain lukewarm, Gwangsan-gu should allocate its own budget to ensure school zone safety."