Gangwon Assemblyman Jaewoong Jung Strongly Criticizes “Pouring Water into a Bottomless Pit” Approach in Abandoned Mine Fund Management

Despite 1.96 Trillion Won Invested, Regional Decline Deepens
Criticism Over “Budget Waste and Administrative-Driven Projects”
Improvement Needed, Including Penalties for Inadequate Abandoned Mine Fund Projects

Jaewoong Jeong, Gangwon Provincial Council Member. Provided by Gangwon Provincial Council

On November 7, Jaewoong Jung, a member of the Gangwon Provincial Assembly (Chuncheon 5, Democratic Party of Korea), strongly criticized the lax management of the Abandoned Mine Area Development Fund projects during the administrative audit of the Future Industry Bureau.

Assemblyman Jung raised his voice, pointing out that despite the injection of massive funds, the actual revitalization of abandoned mine areas has been minimal, and that the fund projects have been used as “free money.”

He noted that since 2001, a total of 2.6 trillion won had been collected from Kangwon Land, with approximately 1.96 trillion won allocated to Gangwon Province, yet it is difficult to see any tangible results. Assemblyman Jung criticized, “Abandoned mine areas still have not found alternative industries, so young people are leaving in search of jobs, and all we hear about is aging populations and the risk of regional extinction.”

Assemblyman Jung further pointed out, “The province itself has diagnosed problems with the abandoned mine fund projects, such as delays in resident consultation, frequent changes to project plans, sluggish implementation, an increase in carried-over projects, and a lack of visible outcomes and investment efficiency linked to actual increases in residents’ income. This essentially acknowledges insufficient preparation for project planning and inadequate preliminary verification procedures.” He added, “This is the result of pursuing the abandoned mine fund projects in a superficial and administrative manner, and since they have been promoted administratively rather than through collecting residents’ opinions, there is a high risk that these projects could become examples of budget waste.”

He also urged improvements, criticizing the lack of objective evaluation and analysis of project outcomes and ripple effects in future operations.

Assemblyman Jung stated, “Even if it is difficult for city and county projects, there needs to be improvement efforts, such as imposing appropriate penalties for projects under the province’s common fund that are unsuitable or insufficient.” He requested, “Taking lessons from the failure of the abandoned mine area regeneration in Yubari City, Hokkaido, Japan, not only the responsible department but the entire Gangwon provincial administration should provide guidelines and act as facilitators to work together for improvement.”

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