Changwon City Conducts Special Audit on Controversial "Big Tree" Project ... Disciplinary Action for Officials, Police Investigation Requested

The "Big Tree" project, a large artificial tree sculpture whose construction was inspired by a landmark in Singapore but has sparked controversy for its appearance differing from the original plans, is now facing a police investigation.

On June 16, Changwon City announced that it had conducted a special audit over four months from February to the end of May regarding the "Big Tree," which was created as part of the private park development special project at Daesang Park in Seongsan District. As a result, the city issued warnings and cautions to four public officials who were responsible for the work at the time, and requested disciplinary action against one official.

Additionally, the city has asked the police to investigate suspicions of "inflated project costs" to determine whether there was any illegality or wrongdoing by the private contractor and to clarify the facts.

Big Tree, an artificial sculpture in Daesang Park, Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam.
Photo provided by Changwon Special City

The Big Tree, which was promoted as the symbolic structure of the Daesang Park private park development special project, was planned as a large artificial tree and a massive structure in the shape of tree branches, inspired by the Supertree at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, and was designed to be 20 meters high.

Originally, the design called for a 60-meter-tall structure with an artificial pine tree and observatory on the upper level, and a meditation center and media facade on the lower level. However, after construction began, safety concerns such as vulnerability to natural disasters were raised, leading to a design change, and the 20-meter-tall artificial tree on the upper level was not installed.

In the end, the completed Big Tree looked nothing like the lush, giant tree depicted in the original plans. This led to public disappointment, as well as critical media reports and controversy over the sculpture being labeled as an "eyesore."

Aerial view of the artificial sculpture Big Tree at Daesang Park, Seongsan-gu, Changwon City, Gyeongsangnam-do (right) and the installed Big Tree. [Photo by Changwon Special City]

In response, Changwon City conducted a special audit to examine the implementation of relevant procedures and the appropriateness of administrative decisions during the creation of the Big Tree.

The audit found that the public officials responsible should have carefully checked and reviewed whether the supervisor and private contractor properly carried out the official review and reporting procedures required by law during the design change process for the Big Tree, but were negligent in doing so.

The audit also raised the possibility that unnecessary costs may have been included in the construction cost calculation during the detailed design phase of the Big Tree.

The city stated that, since settlement procedures are currently underway for the project cost details submitted by the private contractor, it is difficult to determine at this stage whether the final project cost is appropriate.

It is currently known that the private contractor spent approximately 34.4 billion won on the creation of the Big Tree.

The city decided not to disclose the detailed contents of the audit report.

The city explained that the reason for non-disclosure is that it contains information subject to confidentiality obligations under the Local Public Officials Act, confidentiality clauses in the agreement with the private contractor, and information that must be kept undisclosed under the Public Institutions Information Disclosure Act.

The city added that disclosure of the audit results could hinder ongoing investigations and litigation, as the request for investigation and issues that may affect future disputes or lawsuits are included.

The city plans to review whether to take additional measures based on the final settlement of project costs and the results of the investigation going forward.

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