Land Sale of ‘Yeosu Jasan Amusement Park’ Neglected for 10 Years... Issues in Yeosu City Administration Cause Controversy

Yeosu City Administration Orders Restoration but Leaves Land Use Plan Unchanged

2010 Yeosu City and the project implementer promoted a bird's-eye view of Jasan Amusement Park

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] In February of this year, a land area of 29,265㎡, which was the site of the ‘Jasan Amusement Park’ development project in Sujeong-dong 30, Yeosu City, was auctioned at Suncheon Court for 18.1 billion KRW, which is 460.7% higher than the appraised value of about 3.929 billion KRW, drawing public attention and sparking ‘noise’ suggesting problems in Yeosu City’s administration.

The sold land, which overlooks Odongdo Island, a part of Hallyeohaesang National Park, and the Yeosu sea at a glance, and is connected to the Yeosu Cable Car, has the best location conditions in Korea. The land consists of natural green areas, amusement park zones, and quasi-conservation mountain areas, all of which are land-use zones where development activities are fully permitted, making it prime land for developers and others.

The sold land was designated by Yeosu City in 2010 as the project implementer for the ‘Jasan Amusement Park’ urban planning facility project and was granted approval for the implementation plan. However, due to the project implementer’s financial difficulties, the project was abandoned and the land has been left unattended for 10 years.

In December 2012, Yeosu City canceled the project implementation plan approval for the sold land and ordered the project implementer to restore the land to its original state. However, while Yeosu City neglected the use, regulation, and management of the sold land, it was auctioned off through the real estate auction at Suncheon Court.

Real estate expert Mr. A said, “An amusement park zone can be seen as a special commercial area where land use is possible for hotels, entertainment, recreation, and leisure facilities.” He added, “If the sold land had remained as the previous land-use zone of natural green area rather than an amusement park zone, the auction price would not have been this high.”

Therefore, Yeosu City’s indifferent administration caused the land price to rise, and the landowner and project implementer, who reportedly could not proceed with the project due to financial reasons at the time, ended up gaining an astronomical capital gain from the land sale.

According to usual practice, general perspectives, or common sense, if the project approval is canceled, shouldn’t the administrative measures taken by Yeosu City be reverted to the original state? In response to Asia Economy’s inquiry, a Yeosu City official said, “The land in question is an urban planning facility amusement park zone reflected in the city’s basic urban plan.”

However, it has been pointed out that this is a poor excuse as they were not even aware that the land, designated as an urban planning facility amusement park zone in the city’s basic urban plan, was auctioned and sold.

Also, when asked whether the city reviewed this during periodic inspections and management of the city management plan changes, which are designed as Yeosu City’s mid- to long-term goals, the Yeosu City official evaded the question by saying it was “from the perspective of tourism revitalization.”

The ‘Jasan Amusement Park’ development project, located in the most scenic and accessible area of Yeosu City, was met with many negative opinions from the media and civic groups even at the time in 2010, and it is now pointed out that Yeosu City needs to shed new light on this matter.

Meanwhile, Yeosu City consistently showed a negative attitude toward data access. When asked about the exact cancellation status and timing of the project approval and the area of national and public land based on the land survey at the time of implementation plan approval, they maintained the stance of “If you request information disclosure, we will review whether to disclose it.”

During Asia Economy’s investigation, there are also reports and circumstances suggesting that Mr. B, known as a person related to the project implementer who received the implementation plan approval for the Jasan Amusement Park project at the time, contacted multiple people regarding the land mentioned above, the auctioned property of Suncheon Court case 2018takyeong2001, and attempted to win the bid to restart the project.

This appears to be related to the administration Yeosu City has shown so far.

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