Goyang City Refutes Claims That "Judiciary Recognized Illegality in Baekseok-dong City Hall Relocation Process" as False Information

City Expresses Regret Over Councilor Lim Hongyeol's Overinterpretation of Court Ruling as "Confirmed Illegal Administration"
Goyang City Asserts Reserve Fund Use Was Unavoidable and in Accordance with Proper Procedures
City to Address Procedural Deficiencies Through Internal Audit and Appropriate Legal Measures

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) has strongly refuted claims by City Councilor Lim Hongyeol, who recently argued that the judiciary recognized illegality in the process of relocating the city hall to Baekseok-dong. The city called these claims "clearly false information."

A view of Goyang Special City Hall. Provided by Goyang Special City.

On October 21, the city issued an official statement regarding Councilor Lim's remarks during the five-minute free speech session at the 298th Goyang City Council extraordinary meeting, asserting that Lim distorted the court's ruling for his own interpretation. The city also stated that the claim that the entire process of relocating the city hall was illegal from the outset is not true.

Regarding the core issue of using reserve funds for a feasibility study on the city hall relocation, Goyang City emphasized that the decision was made in accordance with proper procedures.

A city official explained, "At the time, the study was a legally required preliminary step to respond to Gyeonggi Province's investment review. However, as the supplementary budget had already closed, we determined that this fell under 'unforeseeable expenditure or expenditure urgently needed' as stipulated in Article 43 of the Local Finance Act, and thus executed the reserve funds to prevent administrative and financial losses."

The official added, "The reserve funds in question were used to pay the agreed fee to a specialized institution designated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for the feasibility study."

Since the Uijeongbu District Court's First Administrative Division issued its ruling on a resident lawsuit on September 16, the city and Councilor Lim have been in sharp disagreement over its interpretation.

The city drew a clear line, stating that the court did not recognize illegality in the city hall relocation process or the use of reserve funds itself, but merely pointed out a procedural deficiency in the administration for failing to address the city council's request for restitution.

The court dismissed all three claims brought by the resident plaintiffs: △ failure to allocate funds in the main or supplementary budget, △ use of reserve funds without council approval, and △ non-compliance with the city council's audit request. The city reiterated that the court only mentioned a procedural lapse in administration and did not acknowledge any fundamental illegality in the use of reserve funds.

The city countered that Councilor Lim's remarks in the free speech session, which interpreted the court ruling as declaring the use of reserve funds illegal and sought to impose personal restitution liability on a specific public official, are inconsistent with both the facts and the law.

Goyang City maintains that an order for restitution must be determined by the Board of Audit and Inspection after an internal investigation by the audit department, in accordance with Article 31 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act. The city argued that it is administrative interference beyond the legal authority of the local council to directly issue such an order.

Meanwhile, Goyang City had initially prepared to appeal the first-instance verdict after legal review. However, on September 30, the Ministry of Justice decided and notified the city to "forgo the appeal" under Article 6 of the Act on Litigation to Which the State Is a Party, so the city was unable to proceed with the appeal.

A Goyang Special City official stated, "To prevent the controversy over the city hall relocation from escalating into political strife, we will continue to pursue transparent and responsible administration in accordance with laws and procedures, always prioritizing the public interest of our citizens."

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