"From Valley to Sea"… Gyeonggi-do Removes 20-Year Illegal Oido Containers

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has begun harbor maintenance, including the removal of illegal containers, starting at Oido Port in Siheung City to create a 'Clean Gyeonggi Sea.'

On the 28th, Gyeonggi Province announced that on the 27th, it started the removal of illegal containers by residents at Siheung Oido Port.

Oido Port is a local fishing port with 59 registered fishing vessels and a major tourist destination in the metropolitan area, attracting 1.86 million visitors annually. Within the harbor, 76 commercial tents and 43 containers have been illegally operated for 20 years. Gyeonggi Province, Siheung City, and the Oido Fishing Village Cooperative reached a consensus on harbor maintenance and agreed on voluntary removal.

The schedule for removing illegal tents will also be discussed soon. Safety fences and other convenience facilities will be installed on the cleared harbor site. Additionally, Oido Port has been selected as a target site for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Fishing Village New Deal 300 project, and a harbor development project under the theme of 'Protecting Oido Urban Fishing Village' is being promoted concurrently.

Kim Hee-gyeom, the first deputy governor of Gyeonggi Province, visited Oido Port on the day to inspect the removal site.

At the meeting, Deputy Governor Kim said, "Siheung Oido Port will become a model case for eradicating illegal activities," and promised, "We will continue to make efforts to return a clean sea to the residents of Gyeonggi Province."

Earlier, since the 6th, the province has been encouraging voluntary removal of illegal activities in harbors, public waters, and beaches, and from next month, it will conduct strong crackdowns on illegal activities.

Illegal facilities within the harbor are subject to imprisonment of up to two years or fines of up to 20 million won under the Fishing Village and Fishing Port Act. Illegal acts in public waters may result in imprisonment of up to three years or fines of up to 30 million won.

Lee Sang-woo, director of the Marine and Fisheries Division of the province, emphasized, "The coastline and harbors are communal property used by 13.7 million residents of Gyeonggi Province," adding, "We will eradicate illegal activities such as unauthorized facilities to create a clean Gyeonggi Sea and ensure that residents can use it freely."

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