So Jae-seop, Buk-gu Council Member, Criticizes the Promotion of Ilgok 2nd Neighborhood Park Fountain Installation Project

The Issue of Illegally Reburied Trash in Parks Must Be Addressed First

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] On the 13th, So Jae-seop, a Progressive Party member of the Gwangju Buk-gu Council, criticized the appropriateness of the fountain installation project within Ilgok 2nd Neighborhood Park, where illegal waste was buried, during a 5-minute speech at the 2nd regular meeting of the 274th Buk-gu Council session, according to a statement on the 15th.

Councilor So said, “Currently, Gwangju City has formed an advisory group and is conducting a detailed environmental impact assessment,” adding, “Depending on the results of the subsequent investigation, the direction for waste disposal will be decided, and if the results show that it is harmful to human health, Gwangju City has stated its position to remove all of it.”

He continued, “In this situation, is it appropriate to install a fountain on a site where illegal waste is buried using 700 million won of taxpayers' money?” criticizing the project’s appropriateness, and said, “Although the responsibility for park management lies with the district mayor, Buk-gu is pushing forward with this absurd project without taking any proactive measures regarding the illegal reburied waste issue.”

Finally, he emphasized, “Residents of the Ilgok district, which was the only area in Buk-gu selected as an energy transition village, are working to create specialized parks in each of the eight parks within Ilgok district and to make at least one of them an energy self-sufficient park,” adding, “Rather, it is right to invest the budget in such sustainable and climate change response projects.”

Meanwhile, the illegal reburied waste in Ilgok-dong was discovered in December 2018 during excavation work for the construction of the Youth Culture House in Ilgok 3rd Neighborhood Park. It was found that a total of 150,000 tons of waste were buried, with 90,000 tons in the 2nd Neighborhood Park and 60,000 tons in the 3rd Neighborhood Park.

This is because Ilgok-dong, which was a landfill site for household waste in 1989, was designated as a residential development district, and the waste that should have been moved to the Woonjeong-dong sanitary landfill was illegally reburied. LH was revealed to have secretly buried the waste multiple times around 1994, when residential development was in full swing.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong bong2910@asiae.co.kr

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