Proposal for Establishing a 'Specialized Management Team' for Large-Scale Development Projects Promoted by Gwangju City

Councilor Jeong Da-eun Criticizes Legal Affairs Office's Reliance on Sporadic External Consultation

There has been a claim that the various large-scale development projects promoted by Gwangju Metropolitan City should not rely solely on occasional external consultations and internal organizational reviews to address the complex conflicts of interest that arise. It is argued that a specialized risk management team composed of legal experts, accounting professionals, and specialized managers should be newly established.

On the 6th, Gwangju City Council member Jeong Da-eun called for the establishment of a 'Specialized Risk Management Team' during the administrative audit.

Council member Jeong pointed out that Gwangju currently depends on the internal Legal Affairs Office and occasional external consultations when making important business decisions.

According to Jeong, Gwangju appears to be restrained, stating that it can only "wait for the judgment of the judiciary or higher authorities" whenever disputes arise that hinder project progress.

He said, “If the mayor does not make timely managerial decisions based on comprehensive reviews by experts and responsible advisory opinions, the current situation will not improve.”

He continued, “It takes years for the judiciary’s final judgment, but since Gwangju cannot halt the projects, it inevitably forms additional legal relationships while bearing the risk of disputes, which leads to more civil and criminal liabilities. The costs required for restoration could increase exponentially during the period decisions are delayed,” expressing his concerns.

Regarding the ongoing Central Park District 1 project, he pointed out, “While controversies over Gwangju’s exercise of management and supervision rights continue, developers are considering criminal complaints against the responsible public officials. In such circumstances, proactive administration in large-scale development projects would become impossible. Can we be optimistic that the projects will be conducted fairly and promptly?”

He added, “To overcome these situations, innovative measures are necessary. Establishing a specialized risk management team is essential as a responsible professional mechanism to assist the mayor’s managerial decisions.”

Meanwhile, over the past year, Council member Jeong has demanded improvements for the ideal promotion of large-scale development projects, including ▲expanding judicial and economic protection measures for proactive administrative officials ▲introducing a separate management system for major lawsuits ▲institutional improvements for fair legal advice free from political interests ▲and strengthening oversight functions such as public disclosure of the Urban Planning Committee.

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