Local Construction Company in Gwangju Digs Up Business Site Land Over Compensation Agreement for Minteuk Project

Gwangju Nam-gu Songam Park Special Project, Compensation Agreement Progress Stalls

Developer Illegally Enters and Damages Site Using Excavator Early on Holiday Morning

Jeongmiso Calls It "Threats Fit for Movies"... Construction Company Says

In 2023, an incident occurred that seemed like something out of a movie set in the 1970s or 1980s, where hired thugs were mobilized or force was used to threaten in order to enforce demolition or extract agreements.

At around 6:20 a.m. on Saturday, August 5, abnormal activity was detected at a security company. The location was a rice mill in Songha-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

The footage clearly captured on CCTV shows unauthorized intrusion and digging up in the front yard of a rice mill in Songha-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, where the settlement has been stalled due to reasons such as compensation.
[Photo by Bu-il Industry]

The rice mill owner, Mr. A, had planned to go to a bathhouse first as he had business in Hwasun that day, but upon receiving a call from the security company, he headed straight to the rice mill.

Arriving just after 7 a.m. at his business site, the rice mill, he saw an excavator and about ten burly men coming out. The front yard was literally a mess, dug up by the excavator.

Mr. A quickly realized where these people had come from and who was behind this. One of the men in the group was Mr. B, with whom he had frequently communicated regarding compensation agreements.

Moreover, Mr. B even passed by Mr. A saying, "That's why you should make the agreement quickly," according to Mr. A.

Mr. A was even more outraged after reviewing CCTV footage installed facing the iron gate entrance inside the rice mill. The footage clearly showed unauthorized entry by forcibly opening the iron gate and digging up the front yard while spraying water.

Mr. A expressed his frustration that a large construction company based in the region was threatening small business owners with such tactics, reminiscent of the actions of hired thugs in the past.

Songha-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju, where the rice mill is located, is one of nine private park special projects in Gwangju City. Joongheung Construction is the contractor, and its affiliate Saebit Development is the developer, currently working on the creation of Songam Park.

As this project progressed, the rice mill had to decide whether to relocate or close down. However, the compensation offered was far too insufficient from the rice mill’s perspective, causing the agreement to stall.

Saebit Development filed for a provisional injunction for eviction, citing that they had conducted three rounds of appraisals, and the court accepted it, allowing for forced eviction.

However, the court accepted an administrative lawsuit filed by the rice mill to suspend the forced eviction, so the eviction was halted until the administrative lawsuit concludes. The administrative lawsuit is currently undergoing a process to select a new appraiser.

The front yard has been dug up.
[Photo by Bu-il Sanup]

Although the agreement is stalled, the rice mill legally maintains its status as a legitimate business operating normally.

In this situation, early on a holiday morning, the business premises were forcibly entered without permission, and property was damaged, making normal business operations impossible.

The rice mill filed a complaint with the Nam-gu Police Station in Gwangju against Saebit Development for special trespassing, special property damage, and business obstruction.

In response, Saebit Development stated that the damages caused by the inability to proceed with the legitimate project are enormous.

A representative of Saebit Development said, "As of June 1 last year, the land and buildings were acquired, and demolition agreements and compensation for obstacles were completed, yet the process has been delayed for over a year, causing huge losses. Currently, Bu-il Industry is conducting an administrative lawsuit, and a prior objection filed with the Central Land Acquisition Committee was dismissed."

He added, "The incident occurred during this process. Ownership of the land and buildings has already transferred, so it cannot be considered property damage," he explained.

The rice mill side lamented, "The CEO of Joongheung Construction serves as the chairman of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, supporting local small business owners’ difficulties, yet ironically, they are destroying small businesses for their own project. The current compensation for relocating the rice mill is absurd. After decades of nurturing this livelihood, we are now forced to shut down and be left on the streets," he expressed.

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