Will the Opening of the Joint Building for Gwangju Fire Headquarters and Seobu Fire Station Be Delayed?

Difficulty in Construction Due to Poor Finances and Budgeting Issues
City Councilor Chae Eun-ji: "Building Safety Grade 'C'... Urgent Relocation Needed"

Eunji Chae, Gwangju City Council Member.

Concerns have been raised about delays in the opening of the joint building project for the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters and the Western Fire Station due to the failure to allocate the necessary budget on time.

Chae Eun-ji, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party, proportional representation), emphasized during the budget review for the Fire Safety Headquarters next year that "the construction and relocation project of the joint building for the Gwangju Fire Headquarters and Western Fire Station must not be delayed any further."

Councilor Chae pointed out, "The Western Fire Station received a C grade in the facility safety evaluation due to the aging building, and the cramped building is limiting the personnel and equipment of the Fire Headquarters."

Aerial view of the joint building of Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters and Seobu Fire Station. Provided by Gwangju City Council

She continued, "The required amount for purchasing the site for the joint building next year was about 4.7 billion KRW, but due to delays in negotiations over private land and the city's poor financial situation, only 3.3 billion KRW was allocated. This raises concerns about the originally planned opening of the integrated building in 2028. It cannot be delayed any further, nor should it be, so please do your best to push the project forward."

Councilor Chae urged, "Please proceed swiftly to secure the safety of firefighters working in the aging building and improve conditions for firefighting activities to strengthen on-site response capabilities."

In response, Kim Moon-yong, head of the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters, said, "There have been some delays in the design service and land acquisition procedures," adding, "We will prepare a concrete roadmap going forward to ensure that the necessary budget is reflected in a timely manner."

Meanwhile, the joint building for the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters and Western Fire Station is planned to be newly constructed on the site of the former Armed Forces Gwangju Hospital in Hwajeong-dong, Seo-gu, with one basement floor and six above-ground floors, at a project cost of 65.5 billion KRW (40.97 billion KRW from city funds and 24.54 billion KRW from grants).

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