‘Without Consultation’ Remodeling of Old Chungnam Provincial Office... Daejeon City “Confirmed Illegal, Strict Punishment for Those Involved”

Seo Cheol-mo, Deputy Mayor of Daejeon, is announcing the audit results of the 'Old Chungnam Provincial Office Remodeling Construction' at the city hall on the 18th. Photo by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] “We deeply apologize for causing great disappointment and concern to the citizens.” Seo Cheol-mo, Deputy Mayor of Daejeon City, apologized for proceeding with the remodeling construction of the old Chungnam Provincial Office building. He also stated his intention to strictly discipline the public officials involved in the remodeling project.

According to the city on the 18th, the remodeling construction of the Chungnam Provincial Office was promoted last year to expand and extend the old Chungnam Provincial Office’s assembly hall and annex buildings such as the armory, election commission, and post office, in order to create a communication and cooperation space suitable for meetings and exhibitions.

However, the city’s internal audit revealed that sufficient consultation was not conducted with Chungnam Province, the actual owner of the old Chungnam Provincial Office building, during this process.

First, although the project department in charge of the remodeling visited the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) for consultation, it was confirmed that official approval from Chungnam Province, the building owner, and the MCST, the competent authority, was not obtained when proceeding with the construction.

In particular, the demolition of the second-floor floor and internal and external stairs of the annex buildings such as the post office and armory constitutes major structural dismantling, which qualifies as major repairs, and the demolition and reconstruction of connecting corridors among the three annex buildings constitute an extension act. Therefore, architectural consultation with Jung-gu Office, the local district office, was required but was not carried out.

Additionally, Deputy Mayor Seo acknowledged that there was a problem with reflecting in the design that the Social Capital Support Center would move into the communication and cooperation space after remodeling.

For the Social Capital Support Center to move into the communication and cooperation space, it must go through a review by the operation council and receive the mayor’s approval, but this procedure was not followed before reflecting it in the design.

However, he drew a line regarding allegations of preferential treatment raised by some. Deputy Mayor Seo said, “The investigation found that the allegations by some that the former head of the Social Capital Support Center gave preferential treatment to the institution he belonged to while he was a current manager are not true,” adding, “The city will decide on the Social Capital Support Center’s move into the communication and cooperation space through proper procedures in the future.”

Deputy Mayor Seo also confirmed through an on-site investigation that out of 1,218 trees at the old Chungnam Provincial Office, 481 were removed, leaving 737 trees remaining. The transplantation and disposal of trees were carried out for the maintenance of the old Chungnam Provincial Office fence (103m).

The on-site investigation revealed that the disposed trees included 114 out of 197 junipers, 36 out of 58 evergreen hollies, 10 out of 15 arborvitaes, 8 pagoda trees, and 3 out of 5 Himalayan cedars.

Among the removed trees, 14 had stumps remaining: 3 junipers estimated to be 55 to 110 years old, 2 arborvitaes estimated to be 68 to 70 years old, 3 arborvitaes estimated to be 37 to 40 years old, and 2 metasequoias estimated to be 45 to 50 years old.

Deputy Mayor Seo said, “Based on the administrative procedure violations and legal breaches confirmed through the audit, we will hold those responsible strictly accountable, considering the seriousness and gross negligence of the matter.”

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