Mayor Baek Kyunghyun: "Citizens' Happiness and Public Interest First... Devoting Efforts Toward Guri's Next 100 Years"

Mayor Baek Kyunghyun Holds Press Conference on City Affairs
Chuseok Greetings, 40th Anniversary of City Status, and Cosmos Festival Introduced
I-Tower and Landmark Projects to Be Managed Transparently and Fairly
Delay in Inchang-dong Integr

On September 24, Paek Kyunghyun, mayor of Guri City, held a press conference in the situation room on the third floor of city hall, where he delivered Chuseok greetings, introduced the 40th anniversary of the city's elevation to city status and the upcoming Citizen's Day event, as well as the Guri Cosmos Festival, and announced the city's official position regarding recent media reports.

Paek Kyunghyun, mayor of Guri City, is holding a press conference in the city hall situation room on the 24th to explain current municipal issues.

At the beginning of the conference, Mayor Paek said, "On the occasion of Chuseok, I wish every household in our city warmth and abundant blessings," and added, "We will do our utmost to support welfare, safety, and livelihoods so that everyone can enjoy the holiday together without anyone being left out."

He continued, "Marking the 40th anniversary of the city's elevation, we will strive to leap forward as a sustainable city for the next 100 years," and encouraged citizens to actively participate in the Citizen's Day event on the 25th and the Guri Cosmos Festival, which will be held from the 26th to the 28th.

At the press conference, Mayor Paek also addressed the city's position on recent media reports.

He stated, "It is regrettable that reports lacking fact-checking on key issues such as the I-Tower project, the Landmark project, and the Inchang-dong Integrated Community Center have caused misunderstandings among citizens," and emphasized, "In particular, the distorted reports claiming that the current administration is deliberately delaying projects initiated by the previous mayor are not true."

Regarding the Landmark project, Mayor Paek explained, "As was evident in the court's dismissal decision in April, the essence of the issue lies in the previous administration's attempt to sell the property at a low price despite the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's investment review conditions." He clarified that Guri Urban Corporation recalculated the sale price to reflect the market value, which is not a violation of the law.

He also said of the I-Tower project, "It was pushed forward without an investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and its structure concentrated benefits on a specific private business operator." He added, "We will relaunch the project in a transparent and fair manner in the future."

Regarding the Inchang-dong Integrated Community Center construction project, he explained that the reduction of the design budget during the third supplementary budget review made schedule delays and increased costs inevitable.

This project, which is being promoted through a consigned development method for public property, is now at the stage where only land compensation, design, and construction remain. The city had planned to proceed with compensation and design simultaneously for efficiency and urgency, but due to the reduction of the design budget in the recent supplementary budget review, schedule delays, increased construction costs, and inconvenience to residents have become unavoidable.

Regarding the city council's criticism that directly executing the design budget contradicts the purpose of consigned development of public property, Mayor Paek clarified that the city can directly handle the design until the plan is approved. He pointed out that the Women's Happiness Center and the Galmae-dong Integrated Community Center were both successfully carried out using the same method.

He also firmly stated that the claim that the city violated procedures by not submitting an amendment to the public property management plan to the city council is unfounded, as the current officially assessed land price of the project site has increased by less than 30% compared to when the public property management plan was approved in 2023, and therefore does not meet the legal requirements for a plan amendment.

Baek Kyunghyun, mayor of Guri City, held a press conference in the city hall situation room on the 24th to explain current municipal issues. Provided by Guri City

Regarding the controversy over his external schedule during the flood warning in July, he explained, "The city immediately switched to an emergency work system and responded promptly. After receiving reports on the damage and presiding over a countermeasure meeting, I attended to my external schedule," adding, "We will continue to prioritize the safety of our citizens."

Immediately after the flood warning was issued in the early morning of July 20, the city switched to an emergency work system, with about 70 staff members from relevant departments responding to the disaster. Mayor Paek also received a phone report on initial actions, was briefed on the damage and response plan at 11 a.m., presided over a recovery countermeasure meeting, and then attended to his scheduled external commitments.

Mayor Paek emphasized that his external schedule was carried out after disaster response measures were completed and recovery work was underway, and reiterated that the city will continue to prioritize the safety of its citizens through swift and systematic responses to any future disasters.

Concluding the press conference, Mayor Paek stated, "We will strengthen communication with the media and enhance the transparency and fairness of municipal administration," and added, "No matter what political issues arise, we will remain steadfast and work diligently for the happiness of our citizens."

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