Gwangju Civic Groups "Welcome the Cancellation of Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area Development Project"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Civic groups in the Gwangju area have voiced their support for the cancellation of the Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area development project.

On the 8th, Participation and Autonomy 21 welcomed Gwangju Metropolitan City's decision to declare the breakdown of negotiations with the preferred negotiator, the Hyundai Engineering consortium, and to cancel the Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area urban development project.

The organization evaluated, "This decision by Gwangju City is significant as it fulfills the promise to prioritize the interests of Gwangju citizens above all and actively accepts the reasonable concerns raised by civil society."

They added, "Going forward, Gwangju City must sincerely respond to the relocation measures raised by the original residents," noting that "the majority of village residents are demanding measures that allow them to maintain their community and relocate collectively with their familiar neighbors."

They also urged a review of the manual for promoting large-scale projects related to Gwangju's future.

They stated, "The Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area urban development project involved complex issues such as Gwangju's housing supply and demand, cultural industry promotion directions, ecological concerns, speculation issues, and urban future strategies," emphasizing that "the city should use this case as an opportunity to shift perceptions and revise the project promotion manual accordingly."

Furthermore, they said, "For development projects attracting private capital, a new manual is needed to harmonize and enable coexistence between civic interests and corporate interests," arguing that "both the previous Eodeungsan development project and the current Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area urban development project have an unreasonable structure where subsequent projects cannot proceed unless corporate profits are generated from the initial development."

They also noted, "Under such a structure, it is difficult to find a balance between civic and corporate interests, and repeated controversies over 'muk-ttwi' (corporate profiteering and abandonment) often arise from this unreasonable project structure," urging "a fundamental revision of the manual that first guarantees corporate profits and then uses part of those profits to carry out public interest development projects."

They added, "We want the public sector to serve civic interests through proactive and creative administrative actions," demanding "the creation of a concrete proactive administrative manual."

Along with this, they proposed, "To create reasonable alternatives to these issues, civil society, city administration, and the city council must come together," and expressed hope that "through an evaluation process of the Pyeongdong Semi-Industrial Area development project involving city administration, civil society, the city council, and experts, Gwangju can mature into a more democratic and sustainably developing community."

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