Civic Group Accuses Choi Moon-soon and GJC of Embezzlement in Legoland Construction Costs, Files Complaint with Prosecution

"GJC Investment of 454.2 Billion Won Mostly Directly or Indirectly Invested by Gangwon-do"

The Civic Group Jungdobonbu filed a complaint with the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 15th against former Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon and Jungdo Development Corporation on charges of embezzlement of Legoland construction costs. [Jungdobonbu]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The Gangwon Civic Group Jungdo Headquarters (Chuncheon Jungdo Prehistoric Site Preservation Headquarters) has filed a complaint with the prosecution against former Gangwon Governor Choi Moon-soon and Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation (GJC) on charges of embezzlement of construction costs related to Legoland.

On the 15th, the Jungdo Headquarters held a press conference in front of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office and stated, "So far, Gangwon Province has spent 209.8 billion won in national, provincial, and city funds on the Legoland project, and the investment by Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation, which was in charge of creating Legoland's infrastructure, amounts to 454.2 billion won, most of which was invested directly or indirectly by Gangwon Province."

They continued, "The Legoland operators conducted the project with taxpayers' money but illegally buried a large amount of waste at the Jungdo archaeological site without the public's knowledge," and claimed, "Although the development permit was granted on the premise of cultural heritage preservation, GJC and others violated the backfilling guidelines and illegally buried a large amount of waste, damaging the archaeological site."

The Jungdo Headquarters added, "On April 6, 2020, a large amount of illegally buried construction waste such as waste concrete was discovered at the Legoland infrastructure construction site and reported to the Cultural Heritage Administration, which subsequently filed criminal charges against the Legoland operators."

GJC and other Legoland operators were transferred to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment on December 29, 2020 (Case No. 2021형제2971호).

Earlier, on November 20, 2015, the Cultural Heritage Administration's Subcommittee on Buried Cultural Properties conditionally approved the 'Preservation Plan for the Legoland Tourist Facility Site,' requiring "a 30cm layer of sand and more than 1.5m of on-site soil backfill over Bronze Age dwelling remains and other relics."

According to the Jungdo Headquarters, during an on-site inspection of the Jungdo archaeological site Legoland construction site by the Gangwon Provincial Council on November 13, 2017, Tak Dong-hoon, CEO of LL Development Co., Ltd., stated, "We are receiving soil discarded from construction sites such as Hakgok-ri and Chuncheon Daerim Apartments for free and using it for landfill."

The GJC team leader in charge of the archaeological site was also pointed out by provincial council members for halting construction due to violation of backfilling guidelines.

Kim Jong-moon, head of the Jungdo Headquarters, claimed, "Out of the 47.5 billion won construction cost for Legoland infrastructure, 18 billion won was spent on embankment, with a significant portion used for sand purchases," and asserted, "It is clear that Jungdo Development Corporation illegally buried waste at the Jungdo archaeological site and embezzled construction funds."

Meanwhile, archaeological excavations conducted at the Jungdo site from 2013 to 2017 revealed it to be "the largest prehistoric urban site in the history of Korean archaeology." Artifacts confirmed at Jungdo include 1,266 prehistoric house sites and 149 prehistoric dolmen tombs.

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