Gyeonggi-do Decides to Reconsider Relocation of Goyang City Hall

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province has decided to 'reconsider' the relocation of the Goyang City Hall.

On the 23rd, Gyeonggi Province held a local finance investment review committee meeting and stated that it is necessary to prepare specific measures regarding Goyang City's financial conditions and the need for plan changes, along with sufficient opinion sharing and a deliberation process including resident persuasion.

The committee also added that Goyang City should first complete preliminary procedures such as promptly concluding the existing application building through sufficient prior consultation with the city council.

The Goyang City Hall relocation project involves moving from the current Deokyang-gu Jugyo-dong City Hall to a newly constructed building in Baekseok-dong. The plan was announced in January 2023 with the launch of the 8th local government administration.

However, opposition from local residents who supported the construction of the city hall led to a resident audit request and a resident audit by Gyeonggi Province. Goyang City disagreed with the audit results and filed a jurisdictional dispute trial, intensifying the conflict between supporters and opponents.

Accordingly, Goyang City requested an investment review from Gyeonggi Province in August for the relocation project, but Gyeonggi Province rejected it citing the failure to conduct a feasibility study. After completing the feasibility study, Goyang City requested the investment review again in early October. Gyeonggi Province held a first advisory meeting on the 16th and then held the second investment review committee meeting on the 23rd, ultimately deciding to reconsider.

For projects such as the Goyang City Hall relocation, where the total project cost exceeds 2 billion KRW for new city hall construction by cities, counties, or districts, an investment review must be requested before budget allocation to assess the necessity and feasibility of the project.

If the reasons for reconsideration are sufficiently supplemented, Goyang City can request the review again from Gyeonggi Province.

Yoon Seong-jin, Director of the Balanced Development Planning Office of Gyeonggi Province, urged, "We hope Goyang City thoroughly reviews the opinions presented by the investment review committee members and proceeds based on empathy and communication."

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