Hwang Ju-ryong, Dongducheon City Council Member, Demands Explanation for Alleged Secret Favoritism to Specific Group and Accountability for Involved Parties

Hwang Ju-ryong, a member of the Dongducheon City Council (Chairman Kim Seung-ho) from the People Power Party representing District A, launched a strong criticism against the city administration.

Member Hwang Ju-ryong of the Dongducheon City Council in Gyeonggi is strongly criticizing the city administration. Photo by Dongducheon City Council

Regarding the relocation of the Dongducheon Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations (hereinafter referred to as Yechong) office to the Dongducheon Complex Cultural Community Center (hereinafter the Center), which opened on the 20th of last month, Councilor Hwang raised his voice during the 5-minute free speech at the opening ceremony of the 334th regular session of the Dongducheon City Council on the 2nd, saying, “Clarify the allegations of secret preferential treatment for a specific organization and hold the responsible officials accountable.”

According to Councilor Hwang, city council members, including himself, only became aware that the Yechong office had moved into the newly built Center after touring the interior of the facility on the day of the opening ceremony. This means that until the day of the opening, the relevant city departments had not informed the council at all. Considering that it is customary to report and seek opinions from the council in advance regarding the list of tenant organizations or the use of interior spaces in newly constructed public buildings, this case is highly unusual.

Most of the numerous organizations under Dongducheon City would likely want to move into the new building, but Councilor Hwang pointed out the problem that only Yechong was given the opportunity secretly and exclusively.

Councilor Hwang emphasized, “Politics and administration are the art of distributing limited public resources in a way that everyone can accept. While the desires of individuals or organizations are infinite and often conflicting, the public resources to satisfy them are limited. Therefore, public resources must be allocated fairly through a transparent decision-making process.”

He continued, “If fairness is lacking in that process, allegations of preferential treatment arise, and if transparency is absent, it inevitably leads to criticism of secretive administration.” Allowing only one organization, Yechong, to move into the Center without public discussion or council consultation cannot avoid suspicion of secret preferential treatment. Moreover, it is an act that blatantly disregards the council, which represents the citizens, according to Councilor Hwang.

Additionally, Councilor Hwang stated, “The fact that Yechong moved its office should have been widely announced in the interest of citizens’ right to know, but there was no mention of the office relocation in any of the press releases issued by the city.” He added, “Like a snake without legs quietly slipping over a wall, it seems this matter had to be handled quietly because those involved felt guilty.”

Councilor Hwang also criticized the remarks of the head of the responsible department who belatedly offered an explanation. According to Hwang, the department head said, “The decision was made by the department head’s own judgment and affection for the promotion of culture and arts.” In response, Councilor Hwang pointed out, “Affection for a specific field is exactly what constitutes preferential treatment.”

Councilor Hwang raised his voice, saying, “There is absolutely no problem with Yechong, which contributes to the development of local culture and arts, moving into the new building itself. The problem lies in the fairness, equity, and transparency that have been compromised with other organizations still using old buildings and offices.”

He strongly criticized, “The authority of approval held by city executives such as department heads is exercised in the name of the mayor on behalf of the mayor and must be exercised with great responsibility and prudence. The exercise of such authority by executives that undermines the mayor’s administrative philosophy of ‘Renew Dongducheon! Empower the citizens!’ is an obstacle to city administration.” Councilor Hwang demanded Mayor Park Hyung-deok to △ thoroughly investigate the details of this incident △ clearly identify any wrongdoing and hold the responsible department head accountable △ take measures to prevent recurrence.

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