Changwon City Completes Prevention of Sunset Effect for 16 Parks Including Gaeumjeong

A panoramic view of Gaeumjeong Park located in Gaeumjeong-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. (Photo by Changwon-si)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] Changwon City in Gyeongnam announced on the 23rd that it has preserved all 16 parks subject to the park sunset system, including Gaeumjeong, Bansong, and Pallyong Parks.

The 16 parks that were protected from expiration are urban parks frequently accessed and used by citizens, covering an area equivalent to 300 Changwon Squares.

The park sunset system is a regulation whereby if a park development project is not carried out within 20 years after the park facility designation, the designation of the park land loses its effect. If local governments do not proceed with administrative procedures such as approval of implementation plans, the parks are scheduled to expire as of July 1 of this year.

To protect the parks, the city communicated with citizens and conducted data surveys and various service projects. As a result, administrative procedures were completed most promptly in Gyeongnam, deciding to develop the parks through 14 public developments and 2 private developments.

The publicly developed parks include 14 locations such as Yongdong, Namsan, Gaeumjeong, Bansong, and Samjeongja, covering an area of 7.44㎢. As of the 15th of this month, the administrative procedures for approval of park project implementation plans and decisions on national industrial complex development plans were completed. The city secured about 300 billion KRW through its own budget and local bond issuance and plans to purchase all private land within the parks starting with Gaeumjeong Park this year.

Additionally, the privately developed parks include two locations, Sahwa and Daesang Parks, covering an area of 2.51㎢. Private developers will purchase all the land and complete the park facility projects by the end of 2023, then donate them to the city. Initially, reviews were conducted for four parks: Sahwa, Daesang, Bansong, and Gaeumjeong Parks.

Heo Seong-mu, Mayor of Changwon City, stated, “Thanks to the active interest and participation of citizens and private organizations regarding the park sunset system, we were able to protect the urban parks, which are leisure and rest spaces, from disappearing due to the sunset system. We will strive to secure and maintain more parks to create a happy Changwon and make them a legacy for the future.”

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