"Regrettable and Surprising"... Lee Jae-myung Inspects Illegal Facilities in Yangpyeong's Largest River Valley

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (center front) is visiting the demolition site of Turtle Island in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and inspecting the site with officials.

[Asia Economy (Yangpyeong) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, visited 'Geobukseom' in Yangpyeong-gun, the largest illegal facility removal site along rivers and valleys in Gyeonggi Province, to inspect the demolition status. He expressed surprise and regret over the large-scale abandonment of illegal facilities in such a beautiful place.

On the afternoon of the 24th, Governor Lee visited Geobukseom in Yangpyeong-gun, where illegal facility removal work along rivers and valleys is underway.

Geobukseom, located in Daesim-ri, Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, covers an area of 240,000㎡ and is a doubly and triply restricted zone including a water source protection area, development restriction zone, and national river zone. For decades, 37 illegal facilities have been installed and operated here.

As part of the Clean Valley Restoration Project, Gyeonggi Province is currently carrying out the removal of illegal facilities in this area. It is the largest illegal facility operation area in Gyeonggi Province by single area.

Geobukseom is especially complicated as private and national lands are mixed, with owners installing and using a total of 37 illegal facilities, including 9 buildings, 6 restrooms, 4 containers, 2 bridges, and 1 Mongolian tent.

Since 2009, Yangpyeong-gun has been pushing for the removal of these facilities by filing complaints with judicial authorities against the owners for violations of the River Act (river zone), the Special Act on Designation and Management of Development Restriction Zones (Greenbelt), and the Water Supply Act (water source protection area), but progress had been slow.

Since Governor Lee Jae-myung promoted the Clean Valley Restoration Project last year, the demolition work has accelerated. Of the total 37 illegal facilities, 15, including rest areas and Mongolian tents, have been removed, and 22 facilities are currently being demolished.

Gyeonggi Province and Yangpyeong-gun plan to grant a voluntary removal period for illegal facilities until the end of this month, after which they will forcibly remove non-compliant facilities through administrative enforcement.

Governor Lee emphasized, "It is surprising and regrettable that illegal facilities were abandoned on such a large scale. It is desirable for Yangpyeong-gun to develop this area into an ecological park so that many people can visit while preserving the beautiful natural environment."

Since last year, the province has been working to eradicate illegal activities along rivers and valleys through the 'Clean Valley Restoration Project.'

As of the 18th, 1,432 illegal business sites were detected in 25 cities and counties, and 1,323 illegal facilities, accounting for 92.4%, have been removed.

The province plans to support voluntary removal of the remaining facilities as a basic measure but will strictly punish non-compliance. Additionally, the cleared valleys will be maintained to help revitalize the local economy.

Regarding this, Governor Lee posted on his social media (SNS) last December with the title, "You can look forward to clean valleys next summer."

At that time, he said, "The day when we can return clean valleys to the residents is not far off. I thank everyone who cooperated and worked hard. When the valleys become clean, more people will come to rest, right? We will eliminate illegal activities and promote various projects to revive both local tourism and the economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.