Jeonnam Province Dispute Mediation Committee, Ineffective with Zero Cases Filed in the Last 5 Years

Assemblyman Kang Jeong-hee Urges Jeonnam Province to Introduce 'Conflict Prevention Ordinance' and 'Conflict Officer System'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Chunsu] Kang Jeonghee, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Council, announced on the 26th that there have been no cases submitted to the ‘Jeollanam-do Dispute Mediation Committee,’ established to resolve conflicts between cities and counties within Jeonnam Province, in the past five years.

It was also revealed that the ‘Market Dispute Mediation Committee’ and the ‘Distribution Dispute Mediation Committee’ received zero cases, rendering the dispute mediation committees ineffective and practically non-functional.

This outcome stems from the fact that after Yeosu City, Suncheon City, and Gwangyang City applied to Jeonnam Province for dispute mediation over jurisdictional conflicts within the Yulchon Industrial Complex caused by reclamation of public waters in 2011, the issue remained unresolved, and local governments experiencing conflicts have since refrained from applying for dispute mediation.

Frequent conflicts, both large and small, occur as local governments or the government promote public policies and projects. In Jeonnam, many conflicts arise over issues such as ‘environmental problems’ and ‘installation of nuisance facilities’ between government agencies, between government and citizens, and among citizens themselves.

There are longstanding conflicts surrounding the Naju Innovation City development fund among Jeonnam Province, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Naju City; the relocation of Gwangju military airport; conflicts between residents, business operators, and administrative agencies over solar power facility installations; and disputes between Jeonnam Province and Jeju Province over marine waste disposal, among many others too numerous to list individually.

Moreover, these conflicts result in significant social costs and waste of administrative resources.

The operation of the Naju SRF combined heat and power plant, built at a cost of 280 billion won, has been suspended for two years and six months, causing losses amounting to hundreds of billions of won. Additionally, from 2015 to 2019, there were 59 administrative lawsuits filed with Jeonnam Province concerning health rights, setback distances, and business permits related to solar power installations.

Recently, the management of conflicts in metropolitan cities and provinces has shifted from a post-conflict management focus to a paradigm of conflict management aimed at prevention.

Currently, only Gyeongbuk, Ulsan, and Jeonnam have not enacted ‘conflict prevention-related ordinances,’ while the other 13 metropolitan cities and provinces have already enacted such ordinances to overcome limitations in performing conflict management functions, and Jeju Province is preparing to do so.

In the case of Seoul Metropolitan City, a conflict mediation officer system directly under the mayor operates with experts who have abundant practical experience, and a total of 12 employees work in the conflict mediation team and conflict management team.

Gyeonggi Province, which successfully adjusted jurisdictional boundaries between Suwon City and Yongin City, has seven employees in the Civil Cooperation Division under the Communication and Cooperation Bureau responsible for conflict mediation tasks.

In Seoul, which has introduced a conflict management system, when a project complaint is received, a first screening is conducted internally, and for projects expected to escalate conflicts, collaboration is made with the conflict management officer’s office.

Furthermore, when signs of conflict are detected, ‘conflict alerts’ and ‘conflict warnings’ are issued stepwise for focused management.

Assembly member Kang Jeonghee emphasized, “There is a need to benchmark Seoul’s conflict management system,” adding, “Public policies expected to cause conflicts should be diagnosed through conflict surveys and preliminary conflict impact analyses from the planning stage, and transparency in decision-making processes and procedural legitimacy involving resident participation must be practically guaranteed for effectiveness.”

She also pointed out, “As seen in recent cases such as the Yeosu National Industrial Complex pollutant emission manipulation incident and the Naju SRF conflict case, a major cause of conflicts is the lack of transparency and absence of resident participation in the decision-making process,” and criticized, “Having residents participate in decision-making governance after conflicts have erupted is a remedy applied too late.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Provincial Council announced that Assembly member Kang Jeonghee is preparing the ‘Jeollanam-do Ordinance on Conflict Prevention and Resolution.’

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