The Tenacity of Busan Gijang-gun... From Establishing Social Safety Net Facilities in Parks

Okuseok Gijang County Mayor: "Electricity and communication facilities must be established first in parks; CCTV and security lights should also be used"

Firm stance against some media's criticism of cost waste: "Installation of social safety net fa

Busan Gijang County Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “Electricity and communication facilities are more urgent tasks than installing fans and security lights.”

On the 18th, Busan Gijang-gun took a firm stance regarding some media criticisms about safety facilities within the district.

Gijang-gun asserted that to protect the safety and lives of residents using local parks 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the installation of electrical and communication facilities within the parks is the top priority.

Only after electrical and communication facilities are established in the parks can security CCTV cameras be installed throughout the park, and fans can be mounted on the ceilings of pavilion rest areas to prepare for heatwaves.

Security lights can also be installed on pavilion ceilings to ensure safety, fine dust signal lights that indicate particulate matter concentration can be set up, and electronic clocks and thermometers can be installed as well.

Gijang-gun plans to first establish electrical and communication facilities within the parks, then install essential social safety network facilities such as security CCTV, security lights, pavilion fans, fine dust signal lights, electronic thermometers, and electronic clocks to create safe parks 24/7 throughout the year.

Gijang-gun expects that burying and extending electricity and communication lines from the village to the parks will cost on average 3 million KRW for parks near the village and up to 10 million KRW for parks farther away.

They have allocated a budget of 100 million KRW in the first supplementary budget of 2021 for electrical and communication facility projects, pavilion fans, security lights inside pavilions, electronic clocks, and electronic thermometers in 10 parks including Sarasu Waterfront Park, Yongso Wellbeing Park, Sodubang Park, and Ilgwang Icheon Ecological Park, and submitted it to the Gijang-gun Council.

The cost to install a fan in a pavilion rest area is about 300,000 KRW per unit, totaling 3 million KRW; electronic clocks and thermometers cost 200,000 KRW each, totaling 2 million KRW; and security lights cost about 100,000 KRW each, totaling 1 million KRW.

Therefore, the total installation cost for pavilion fans, security lights, electronic clocks, and electronic thermometers in 10 parks is 6 million KRW. The cost to install electrical and communication facilities in one park ranges from an average of 3 million KRW to 10 million KRW, with the remaining 94 million KRW used for the other nine parks.

Gijang-gun was the first in the nation to start installing fans on pavilion ceilings in 2016 and by 2018 had installed fans in 32 pavilion rest areas within parks to facilitate residents’ use.

A Gijang-gun official said, “The 10 parks including Sarasu Waterfront Park, Yongso Wellbeing Park, Sodubang Park, and Ilgwang Icheon Ecological Park, which were included in this supplementary budget, had many resident requests to install fans in pavilion rest areas to prepare for heatwaves. Installing pavilion fans, security lights, electronic thermometers, and electronic clocks there is urgent before the heat arrives.”

Additionally, with a 300 million KRW budget secured in the 2021 main budget for installing security CCTV in local parks, Gijang-gun planned to densely install security CCTV in pavilion rest areas, restrooms, and other park facilities to build a social safety network within the parks.

Priority was given to parks far from villages where safety networks are urgently needed and heavily used by residents, such as Sarasu Waterfront Park and Yongso Wellbeing Park in Gijang-eup, Sodubang Park in Jeonggwan-eup, and Ilgwang Icheon Ecological Park in Ilgwang-myeon.

Gijang-gun Mayor Oh Gyuseok said, “The installation of electrical and communication facilities in parks is the top priority to protect the safety and lives of residents using local parks. Only when electricity and communication facilities are established can essential safety facilities such as security CCTV, security lights, pavilion fans, fine dust signal lights, electronic thermometers, and electronic clocks be installed.”

Mayor Oh firmly stated, “We must see the forest, not just the trees. There is no value more precious than the safety and lives of residents. Public funds must be used to protect residents’ safety and lives.”

He also said, “We plan to allocate 500 million KRW in the second supplementary budget, 500 million KRW in the third supplementary budget, and 1 billion KRW in the 2022 main budget to promote the construction of social safety network facilities in parks to create safe parks 24/7 throughout the year.”

He instructed, “Step by step, establish electrical and communication facility projects and essential social safety network facilities in all local parks so that all residents can use the parks comfortably and safely,” emphasizing unwavering commitment to this plan.

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