Sang-gil Park, Gwangju Nam-gu Council Member, "Concerns Over Discrimination Against Locals in Sports Reservation System"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Park Sang-gil, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Nam-gu Council, urged measures regarding the ‘Nam-gu Sports Facilities Integrated Reservation System’ and ‘Collective Complaints from Construction Sites.’

On the 17th, during the 2nd plenary session of the 289th extraordinary meeting, Councilor Park raised related issues to the executive branch.

Councilor Park stated, “An online integrated reservation system is being prepared for the smooth operation of four Nam-gu sports facilities (Bongseon Tennis Court, Jinwol Sports Complex, Seungchon Park Golf Course, Hyochon Football Field), but due to recommendations from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, priority use by district residents is restricted in the reservation system, raising concerns about reverse discrimination against local residents.” He added, “Please propose a plan that allows our district residents to use the facilities with maximum priority.”

He also said, “As residents’ inconveniences related to construction sites increase daily, collective complaints from nearby residents are also on the rise, and it is a reality that these collective complaints are not easy for the responsible public officials to handle.” He continued, “The repeated occurrence of such complaints not only lowers the morale of on-site officials but also frequently causes residents to distrust the administration.”

He then proposed, “To prepare various preemptive measures for this, I hope that a (tentatively named) Complaint Dispute Mediation Committee composed of construction companies, resident representatives, civic groups, and public officials will be formed and utilized to more actively intervene in resolving collective complaints.”

In response, Kim Byung-nae, Mayor of Nam-gu, said, “We are fully aware of the issues related to the operation of the integrated reservation system, and we will introduce a priority reservation system and a general reservation system to ensure that Nam-gu residents are not excluded and that opportunities to use public sports facilities are evenly provided.”

He also responded, “To minimize resident conflicts in advance and reduce the occurrence of collective complaints, we recommend holding resident briefings before construction begins, encourage construction companies to assign dedicated complaint staff on-site, and actively consider establishing a Construction Dispute Mediation Committee for complaints requiring assistance from our district office.”

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