[Exclusive] Did the Jeju Mayor's Words Halt a 'Legally Permitted Construction'?... 'Careless Conduct' Under Fire

A private construction site in Iho-dong, Jeju City. Due to strong opposition from the village, the construction on the road occupancy permit section, which would serve as the private road access, is blocked. Photo by Changwon Park.

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Although it has been officially confirmed that the construction site in Iho-dong, Jeju City is not a coastal dune, a legally permitted construction project has been suspended for several months due to strong opposition from the village council. There are mounting criticisms that the responsible authorities are turning a blind eye to the situation, even though they are aware that the permit cannot be revoked.

Additionally, controversy is growing as the village claims, publicly reported by the media, that even the mayor of Jeju City, who heads the local administration, sided with complainants. Critics argue that the mayor's careless actions have only exacerbated the conflict.

According to a comprehensive report by The Asia Business Daily on March 10, a transcript of a face-to-face meeting held on January 5 at the Iho-dong community office in Jeju City-which included city officials (the Iho-dong district chief and architecture division), village residents, and the property owner-as well as statements from the village council president, reveal the administration’s passive response and the lack of principled leadership at the upper levels of Jeju City Hall.

According to the January 5 meeting transcript obtained by The Asia Business Daily, the village representatives made remarks suggesting they might take matters into their own hands, despite lacking a clear legal basis.

During the meeting, one village official responded to the property owner-who was emphasizing the legitimacy of the permit process-by saying, "Do you think everything written in statutory law is the law? Absolutely not. Is statutory law the only real law?" This remark appeared to reject the legitimacy of the national administration’s legal authorization process.

Furthermore, when the property owner expressed an intention to resume construction, the village official directly warned, "If you insist on pushing ahead with construction, we could lay down in protest. That’s the sort of thing we’re talking about," clearly indicating a willingness to physically block access to the construction site.

Despite these developments, there are criticisms that frontline administrative authorities in Jeju City, who should mediate on-site and enforce the law and established procedures, have simply admitted their lack of intervention authority and continued to take a passive, hands-off approach.

One city official present at the meeting remarked, "Unless there is a clear legal requirement, we are not in a position to revoke a permit that has already been issued. In fact, we’re not in a position to tell you to stop just because something seems wrong," summarizing the current situation.

An official from the Jeju City architecture division also admitted, "We are not legally required to enforce a stop-work order. There must be a clear reason for cancellation, which is not easy to establish," thereby acknowledging the lack of legal grounds for administrative sanctions.

Previously, on March 3, The Asia Business Daily reported ("Sand Dunes Are a Natural Heritage, Stop the Construction" ... Conflict Erupts in Iho, Jeju) that both Jeju Province and Jeju City had officially confirmed the site in question was "excluded from the national ecological survey and is not a coastal dune."

This highlights growing criticism that, even though the authorities are aware the construction is legal and that they lack the authority to forcibly halt it, they are choosing to remain on the sidelines instead of enforcing administrative principles.

A view of the access road site where construction has been halted. Although Jeju Province and Jeju City have officially confirmed that the site is not a coastal dune, the village residents are blocking the entrance road, insisting on preserving the roadside area. As a result, construction activities on the private land inside are practically being disrupted. Photo by Park Changwon.

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On top of this, the conduct of Jeju City’s senior officials is fueling further controversy. In a phone interview with The Asia Business Daily, the village council president referenced a visit to city hall, stating, "Fortunately, the mayor was present and we had a meeting; the mayor acknowledged the issue on the spot," according to the president’s claim.

This claim by the village council president has been widely disseminated by other media outlets since March 9, creating the impression that the mayor "acknowledged administrative error and ordered corrective action."

In fact, it has been confirmed that the village council recently filed an official request with Jeju City Hall for the "administrative revocation of the road occupation permit," leading to expectations that the conflict and its repercussions will intensify.

Although the construction project in question is legal and has gone through the proper authorization process with Jeju City, critics argue that if the administrative head made remarks in front of complainants without clearly establishing the facts-thereby giving the village grounds to demand administrative revocation-then such actions were extremely careless.

Ultimately, it appears that the upper leadership is undermining the judgment of frontline staff who issued the permit according to the law. As a result, Jeju City is likely to face criticism for eroding trust in public administration and legitimizing unjustified physical obstruction.

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