The County Governor Opposes Protests, Construction Companies Push Forward, and Busan City Oversees Approval

Okuseok Gijang County Mayor's 27th Solo Protest Against Apartment Approval

Traffic Impact Assessment Approved at 3rd Review for Ilgwang Samdeok District

Ilgwang Residents Dissatisfied with Access Road Without Requested Bypass

View of Ilgwang New Town.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A local government head is opposing a privately promoted project within the jurisdiction and is holding a series of protests.

Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan's Gijang County, held his 27th solo protest at 10:05 AM on the 20th in front of Busan City Hall.

What is the reason? The main point is that Busan City should not approve the housing construction project plan for the Samdeok District in Ilgwang-myeon, Gijang County, which a local construction company has entered.

Mayor Oh strongly opposed the approval of the traffic impact assessment for Ilgwang Samdeok District at the Busan City Traffic Impact Assessment Deliberation Committee held on October 29.

He passionately stated, “I am firmly against the approval of the apartment complex. This project will exacerbate the suffering and sacrifice of residents in the Ilgwang New Town area due to traffic chaos and sewage problems, and I absolutely cannot accept it.”

He also made it clear that he would hold the Busan mayor responsible, saying, “If Busan City approves the Samdeok District plan, Park Hyung-joon, the mayor of Busan, must apologize to the 176,000 residents of Gijang County.”

The local government head is convinced that the housing construction project will cause traffic congestion in the Ilgwang New Town area and that indiscriminate development will damage forests and green corridors.

Moreover, he believes that the entire nearby Hoenggye Village will be isolated, threatening the residents' right to livelihood.

In short, he expressed his conviction that the Samdeok District in Ilgwang is unsuitable as a site for apartment complexes.

Mayor Oh argued that changing the Samdeok District unit plan area from Type 1 General Residential Area to Type 2 General Residential Area to allow the private developer to build high-rise apartments would grant enormous benefits to the private sector.

Mayor Oh readily mentioned ‘Daejang-dong.’ He warned, “This is secretive administration, bad practice administration, and corrupt administration, and it is a serious matter that could escalate into a Busan version of the second Daejang-dong incident.”

The Samdeok District adjacent to Ilgwang New Town is a project by Yurim Comprehensive Construction to change the existing Type 1 General Residential Area to Type 2 General Residential Area and modify the district unit plan to include some natural green areas, constructing a large apartment complex of about 1,500 households.

Yurim Comprehensive Construction submitted the housing construction project plan to Busan City in March.

At the Busan City Traffic Impact Assessment Deliberation Committee meetings held on August 6 and October 1, decisions were made to re-examine twice, but at the third traffic impact assessment held on October 29, the plan was approved despite opposition from Gijang County.

Gijang County maintains that the supplementary traffic impact assessment reports submitted by the developer three times do not sufficiently provide traffic improvement measures that can alleviate the difficulties and concerns of residents in the Ilgwang New Town area, and thus the project is unacceptable.

Gijang County pointed out that the bypass road, which they strongly demanded from the initial review, was not reflected at all, and that the developer plans the entrance inside Ilgwang New Town without obtaining consent from nearby large apartment complexes.

They argue that there is a potential for large-scale collective complaints, and that Busan City's approval of the traffic impact assessment without any fundamental improvement measures is a mistake.

The outcome of this housing development project, where the local government's “firm opposition” and the private construction company's promotion are sharply conflicting, is drawing keen attention.

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