Jeong Jong-sun, Jangheung County Governor, Appears at Police Regarding New Ark Shell Harvesting Permit

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Jeong Jongsun, the governor of Jangheung County in Jeonnam, is currently under investigation by the police after being sued on charges including fraud during the permit process for harvesting the New Clam, known as the "Lotto of the Sea," in the waters off Jangheung.

According to the Jeonnam Police Agency on the 19th, the Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Unit 1 has summoned Governor Jeong as a suspect and is investigating him from 2 p.m. today.

Earlier, a fisherman identified as Mr. A filed a police complaint on January 21 against Governor Jeong, the head of the Marine Fisheries Division of Jangheung County, and two others, accusing them of fraud, obstruction of business, and abuse of authority.

Mr. A claimed that at the time, diving boats were illegally harvesting and overfishing New Clams in the shared waters off Sinsang, and that he had requested the Jangheung County authorities to prevent this by installing gill nets and deploying haenyeo (female divers).

He stated that he invested based on promises from Governor Jeong and the responsible division head that a portion of the profits from New Clam harvesting would be guaranteed when the area was later designated as a managed water surface, but the county suddenly changed its stance, causing him losses amounting to approximately 250 million KRW.

Mr. A also asserted that he received such proposals through another individual who served as an advisor to Jangheung County.

Jangheung County issued a press release denying that they ever requested Mr. A to install gill nets or promised profit sharing, and stated that they will take legal action against acts that damage the reputation of public officials.

Meanwhile, in the 119-hectare shared waters of Sinsang, Hoejin-myeon, Jangheung, a natural New Clam population, which is difficult to cultivate artificially, appeared in October last year, leading to disputes between the diving cooperative and local fishing communities.

Shared waters are areas where fishing must be conducted under a license period approved by administrative agencies. The diving cooperative members, mainly from Yeosu, hold the only fishing rights for coastal shared waters in Jeonnam, allowing them to harvest New Clams in the waters off Jangheung.

The Jangheung fishing community, facing difficulties in harvesting New Clams in their own waters, argued around mid-November last year that the area should be designated as managed waters, which led to conflicts with the diving cooperative members who opposed this.

The Jangheung fishing community requested that the Sinsang waters be changed to managed waters to allow New Clam harvesting, and Jeonnam Province facilitated an agreement between the diving fishermen and the Jangheung fishing community, designating the area as a fishery resource management water surface until May 31, starting January 8.

With the designation as managed waters, it became possible to harvest 552 tons of New Clams using diving and aquaculture net cages. Considering that only 60-70% of the previous harvest amount was permitted, it is estimated that the New Clams in this area are worth approximately 25 billion KRW.

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