Gwangju Seo-gu Council's Proposal Urging Full Reconstruction of Hwajeong I-Park

The Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 21st that during the 313th extraordinary session held on the 19th, it issued a 'Resolution Urging the Complete Demolition and Reconstruction of Hwajeong I-Park.'

The resolution, led by Councilor Jeon Seung-il, was enacted to demand the full demolition and reconstruction originally promised by Hyundai Development Company (hereafter referred to as HDC), which had changed its plan from complete demolition to partial demolition.

All members of the Seo-gu Council demanded ▲ an apology from HDC for deceiving and mocking residents and tenants by changing their stance ▲ an apology from Seo-gu Office for tacitly allowing the partial demolition for seven months despite being aware of it ▲ and urged HDC to carry out the full demolition and reconstruction as promised.

Councilor Jeon pointed out, “HDC, which claimed to provide trust to customers, and Seo-gu Office, which vowed to build a safe Seo-gu with trustworthy administration from the ground up, are instead deceiving and mocking the residents rather than maintaining trust.”

He continued, “Seo-gu Office approved the safety management plan submitted by HDC without any supporting documents, trusting only HDC’s word, even after confirming that the plan was for partial demolition, not full demolition.”

Councilor Jeon said, “The building has already collapsed once, and trust has also been broken. I feel betrayed by this partial demolition plan. I hope HDC, a large corporation, will fulfill its social responsibility by fully demolishing and reconstructing all eight buildings as originally promised.”

On January 11 of last year, the upper floors of Building 201 in Hwajeong I-Park collapsed, resulting in six deaths and one injury. Subsequently, on May 4, 2022, HDC announced plans to fully demolish and reconstruct all eight buildings, but recently changed the plan to partial demolition, sparking controversy.

Shin Dong-ho, Honam Reporting Bureau, Asia Economy bless4ya@asiae.co.kr

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