"It's Not a Matter to Decide by a Few Whispers"‥ Kim Jin-tae Respects Citizen Opinions on Gangwon-do Cheong Relocation

"Are They Planning to Make Chuncheon Camp Site the Second or Third Daejang-dong?" Concerns
Civic Group: "Not a Decision Made Through Citizen Opinion Gathering Over the Past 10 Years"
Gangwon Province: "Nothing Decided Yet, Will Be Determined by Next Provincial Government" Policy

Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the People Power Party Chuncheon Gap District Committee (center in the photo), is holding a press conference on the 28th criticizing the discussion about the construction of the new Gangwon Provincial Government Office Camp Page. [People Power Party Chuncheon City Party]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Regarding the ruling party local lawmaker's proposal to move the Gangwon Provincial Office to the former Camp Page site, Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the Chuncheon Gap Party Member Council, sharply criticized, saying, "They say citizens are the owners, but it is inappropriate for some lawmakers to act on their own."

Earlier, Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Young proposed the former Camp Page in Chuncheon as the site for the new Gangwon Provincial Office building. However, Gangwon Province, the party concerned, dismissed it by saying, "Nothing has been decided yet, and it will be decided in the next provincial administration," causing a discord between ruling party lawmakers and local government heads regarding the relocation of the provincial office.

On the 28th, Chairman Kim held a press conference at the Gangwon Provincial Office and criticized Governor Choi Moon-soon, saying, "Why is there a sudden rush to decide now, right before the end of the term, when they did nothing but waste time last year when asked to select the site?"

He also pressured ruling party local government heads, saying, "The current governor, who lacks ability and will, and Mayor Lee Jae-su cannot be trusted, so leave it to the next provincial and city administration!"

Chairman Kim emphasized the agreement to develop the returned Camp Page site into a citizen's park, adding, "Mayor Lee Jae-su also pledged to make it a citizen's park and has already spent 750 million won of public funds on forest maintenance projects through design service fees, so regardless of party affiliation or change of mayor, there has been no change."

According to Chairman Kim, a media poll conducted in June this year showed that 49.2% of respondents favored making it a citizen's park, which was overwhelmingly higher than the 10.6% who supported creating an administrative town.

However, Chairman Kim lamented, "Suddenly, a local lawmaker proposed moving the Gangwon Provincial Office to Camp Page," and criticized, "There is more than one lawmaker in Chuncheon, but there was no consultation."

He continued, "They say citizens are the owners, but it is inappropriate for some lawmakers to act on their own. Mayor Lee Jae-su's position is unclear, as if he is watching the lawmakers ahead of next year's election," he pointed out.

He added, "Deciding on such a significant issue as relocating the provincial office site should not be done by a few whispering among themselves; the citizens of Chuncheon must be asked," and criticized, "There is no public discussion process, so how much do they underestimate the citizens of Chuncheon, treating them like air in a pocket, that they don't even ask?"

Chairman Kim especially expressed concern, saying, "The whole country is noisy over the Daejang-dong corruption scandal and Hwacheon Daeyu. It is an overreach and raises concerns about preferential treatment for a local lawmaker to mention a specific site in such an important matter as relocating the provincial office," adding, "It is said that land prices in the nearby area are already fluctuating."

He also pointed out, "To move to Camp Page, the current natural green area must be rezoned to quasi-residential. Since the provincial office building cannot be built in a park, the entire urban plan must be changed, which violates administrative consistency and cannot avoid controversy over preferential treatment."

Regarding the Daejang-dong development corruption allegations, Chairman Kim emphasized, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung has been criticized for rezoning natural green areas to quasi-residential in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam City, skipping four stages, not just in Daejang-dong," and sarcastically added, "Is he planning to make Camp Page the second or third Daejang-dong with the so-called 50m retaining wall controversy?"

He pressured Governor Choi Moon-soon, saying, "It is known that Gangwon Province decided to relocate the provincial office within Chuncheon, so Governor Choi should clearly state that it will be newly built within Chuncheon to avoid further controversy," and emphasized, "Where to relocate within Chuncheon should be decided by gathering the citizens' opinions."

Meanwhile, earlier, lawmaker Heo proposed the Camp Page site in Chuncheon as the relocation site for the 64-year-old Gangwon Provincial Office building.

At the party-government budget policy meeting held at Chuncheon City Hall on the 19th, he pointed out that "exchanging the current office site with the proposed site could save about 70 billion won in project costs," designating about 60,000㎡ of the planned Creative Comprehensive Support Center site within Camp Page as the new provincial office site.

However, there has been backlash, mainly from civic groups, citing a lack of public consultation.

The Chuncheon Citizens and Social Organizations Network, composed of groups such as Chuncheon Gyeongsilryeon and Minyechong, issued a statement saying, "The parkification of Camp Page is a decision made through a decade-long process of gathering citizens' opinions," and pointed out, "To change this, justification and citizen consensus are necessary."

The Gangwon Peace Institute criticized on the 26th in a commentary, "The issue of relocating the provincial office was officially stated by the province as 'to be decided in the next administration' only two months ago, based on a service report costing 380 million won conducted last August. The discussion of relocating Camp Page, which is a matter of a hundred-year plan, is not something to be decided behind closed doors and rushed ahead of elections."

They added, "Mayor Lee Jae-su of Chuncheon breaking his first pledge, the 'Camp Page Citizen Park Project,' without even a single citizen meeting is a childish and immature act."

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