Assemblyman So Byeong-cheol Proposes Solutions to Address Residents' Long-standing Issues in Juamho Waterfront Area

Villagers in Restricted Waterfront Zones Should Be Eligible for Support Projects

Assemblyman So: "Will Strive to Pass Livelihood Bills Until the End of the 21st Term"

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker So Byeong-cheol (National Assembly Judiciary Committee whip, Suncheon·Gwangyang·Gokseong·Gurye (Gap)) introduced the partial amendment bill of the 「Yeongsan River and Seomjin River Basin Water Management and Resident Support Act」 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Yeongsan River and Seomjin River Basin Act’) last December, which has now been submitted to the Environment and Labor Committee, the standing committee in charge at the National Assembly.

The current law allows dams used as water sources (upstream areas) or areas within 500 meters from the boundary of the relevant region, recognized as necessary, to be designated and announced as ‘waterside zones.’

[Photo by So Byeong-cheol's Office]

Once designated as a waterside zone, it becomes a water source protection and management area, where activities such as wastewater and livestock manure discharge, food service and lodging businesses, and installation of single-family or multi-family housing are restricted. To compensate for these disadvantages, resident support projects such as income increase and welfare promotion projects are provided.

However, since the designation of waterside zones is determined solely by a uniform ‘distance criterion,’ even if residents form the same administrative district or living area and are subject to similar property restrictions, they have been excluded from resident support projects simply because they fall outside the uniform distance criterion.

In fact, in Oeseo-myeon, Suncheon City, although it is the same administrative district and living area, only 9 out of 16 villages receive benefits from resident support projects, leading to complaints of discriminatory support and demands for correction of this unfairness from the other villages.

According to data submitted by the Yeongsan River Basin Environmental Office, the resident support projects for the waterside zone in Oeseo-myeon in 2023 were organized into 19 projects totaling approximately 350 million KRW.

Currently, welfare promotion and income increase projects such as sports and public facility renovations and compost purchases are being carried out only in some villages.

Accordingly, in the amendment bill, lawmaker So proposed an improvement plan that allows additional designation of waterside zones with the consent of local residents when the administrative district matches or the same living area is formed, in addition to the uniform distance restriction when designating waterside zones.

If the 「Yeongsan River and Seomjin River Basin Act」 passes the National Assembly, residents subject to waterside zone restrictions in the Yeongsan and Seomjin River basins will be able to receive support without discrimination, which is expected to resolve residents’ grievances.

Lawmaker So said, “I will devote all my efforts to passing the amendment bill within the 21st National Assembly term to address livelihood-related legislation until the end of my term,” adding, “Even if it is not passed, it will set a precedent and momentum for the same amendment bill to be introduced in the 22nd National Assembly.”

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