Construction of Icheon Crematorium Fails Again... "Application Withdrawn" Due to Conflict Among Candidate Site Residents

'Gusiri' Selection Canceled One Month Later
Second Failure Following Sujeong-ri, Bubal-eup

The construction of a municipal cremation facility in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, has once again been halted. This is the second time following the collapse of the crematorium plan in Sujeong-ri, Bubal-eup last September.

On the 9th, Icheon-si announced that the 'Gusiri Cremation Facility Attraction Committee' in Gusiri, Daewol-myeon, which was selected as the site in last month's municipal cremation facility contest, submitted a request to withdraw from the project selection on the 5th.

Earlier, the city held a contest for candidate sites for the municipal cremation facility in January this year and selected the area 60-6 in Gusiri, Daewol-eup as the candidate site on the 11th of last month. However, conflicts arose as the attraction committee failed to accurately explain the location of the cremation facility project to residents and raised objections on the grounds that the site and location differed from what residents had originally agreed upon.

The attraction committee explained, "We believe that a prompt withdrawal request is the best way to heal the wounds of the residents so far, in order to promote harmony among the residents of Daewol-myeon, which is why we submitted the withdrawal letter."

With the submission of the withdrawal request by the attraction committee, the city's plan to build the cremation facility has lost momentum for the time being. An official from Icheon-si stated, "We plan to review and decide on whether to withdraw the candidate site selection soon," adding, "Since the residents themselves decided to withdraw from the project, the Gusiri crematorium plan is effectively canceled."

This is the second time that Icheon-si's plan to build a cremation facility has failed. Since 2019, Icheon-si has been promoting the construction of a municipal cremation facility and selected 'Sujeong-ri, Bubal-eup' as the candidate site through a contest in August of the following year.

Subsequently, residents of Maehwa-ri, Sejongdaewang-myeon, Yeoju-si, adjacent to the candidate site, strongly opposed the construction of the cremation facility. Additionally, a Gyeonggi-do audit requested by 189 Icheon citizens citing violations of the Local Finance Act confirmed illegal and improper matters such as budget carryover and improper internal review of investment projects, and improper procedures in strategic environmental assessment. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued an authoritative interpretation stating that the announcement made under the name of the chairman of the Cremation Facility Construction Promotion Committee, rather than the mayor, had "no legal effect." As a result, the city officially announced the cancellation of the project last September.

In January this year, the city launched a new contest for candidate sites to build the cremation facility. At that time, the city offered a total incentive of 10 billion KRW as a resident wish project for the attraction area and adjacent areas, and the relevant myeon. Four applicants participated in the contest: Gusiri and Doriri in Daewol-myeon, Wolpo 1-ri in Yul-myeon, and Hyojawon Co., Ltd. On the 11th of last month, Gusiri was selected as the final candidate site.

However, with Gusiri now giving up on attracting the cremation facility, the city faces the situation of having to look for a new candidate site. A city official said, "After two project failures, we have to find a new candidate site," adding, "Although it is a necessary facility, the perception of it as a 'nuisance facility' is so strong that it is not easy to overcome the hurdle of resident consent."

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