Controversial Yeongam Public Library New Site... Ultimately Fully 'Reconsidered'

Yeongam County Office

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The plan to build the ‘Yeongam Public Library,’ which became controversial after deciding the new construction site as Wolchulsan Gichan Land without collecting residents' opinions, is being fully reconsidered.

On the 10th, Yeongam-gun announced that regarding the selection of the new construction (relocation) site for Yeongam Public Library, a ‘Pre-Explanation Meeting for Resident Opinion Collection’ will be held on the 17th to comprehensively review the matter by gathering residents' opinions and considering accessibility and the expansion potential of the county's urban planning.

The new construction of Yeongam Public Library is a project supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with a construction cost of 17 billion KRW (7 billion KRW from Jeonnam Office of Education, 5 billion KRW from Yeongam-gun, and 5 billion KRW from national funds). It is planned to be built on a 6,600㎡ site with a total floor area of 3,900㎡ (1 basement floor, 3 above-ground floors, 570 reading seats), aiming to open in March 2024.

This project became controversial as Yeongam Office of Education notified parents and education officials by text message that the new construction site was decided as Gichan Land without holding a public hearing on January 22 last year.

At that time, Yeongam county council members and residents criticized Yeongam Office of Education and Yeongam-gun for poor communication, saying, “The opinions of local residents were ignored in the library site selection process, and a unilateral decision was notified by text message.”

In particular, Wolchulsan Gichan Land has continuously faced issues regarding suitability and accessibility for library users.

Accordingly, Yeongam-gun plans to fully review the new construction site by collecting residents' opinions and considering the library’s accessibility and the expansion potential of the county’s urban planning.

This explanation meeting will be held to communicate with local residents and secure acceptance of the selected site before starting the resident opinion survey on the new construction site of Yeongam Public Library, covering ▲library project plan ▲candidate site explanation ▲listening to residents’ opinions.

The resident opinion survey is expected to be conducted in various ways from the 22nd of this month to the 4th of next month, targeting local residents through electronic participation methods such as the county website and SNS text messages, as well as face-to-face opinion surveys at town and township offices.

Woo Seung-hee, the mayor of Yeongam-gun, said, “The region changes when there are more opportunities to gather the power and wisdom of the residents,” and added, “We hope for active participation in the opinion survey on the candidate site for the new public library, and we will work harder to make Yeongam Public Library a creative complex cultural space where children and residents can dream and realize their future.”

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