Wando County Council Criticizes "2.3 Billion Won Marine Healing Platform" for Overall Failures

"Where Did 230 Million Won Out of 2.3 Billion Go?"
Excessive Cloud Costs Exceeding 10 Million Won per Month

The Wando County Council delivered strong criticism at the 340th special session during county administration questioning, focusing on the lack of transparency in budget spending and insufficient results for the "Marine Healing Center Big Data Platform Establishment Project," in which a total of 2.3 billion won was invested.

According to the Wando County Council on the 21st, council members pointed out that the project’s effectiveness fell short relative to the massive budget expenditure, urging both greater transparency in budget execution and measures to reduce future operation costs.

At the temporary session held in the Wando County Council's main chamber, Kim Geon-gyu, Director of Marine Healing (left), is responding to Councilor Park Byungsoo's questions regarding county administration. Provided by Wando County Council

"Where Did 230 Million Won Out of 2.3 Billion Go?"...Nontransparent Execution Details

During the administration questioning, councilman Byeongsu Park inquired about 230 million won of the remaining budget, excluding the 1.87 billion won construction cost and the 200 million won supervision fee, demanding specific details on how it was used.

Park stated, “If you exclude the reference amount based on the Nara Market public notice, about 230 million won remains. Please provide a clear breakdown of how this was executed.” In response, Geon-gyu Kim, Director of Marine Healing, only gave a brief reply, saying, “It was used,” without presenting any clear figures or detailed usage records.

The ongoing operational cost burden was also brought to the fore. Due to the nature of IT projects, recurring maintenance fees and cloud service charges are expected to be excessive. Director Kim explained, “The contractor submitted an estimate of over 10 to 20 million won per month for operating costs, but this is unacceptable. After consulting experts, we plan to lower this to 5 to 7 million won per month.”

However, Park rebutted, “Given that even basic website maintenance for the agency currently costs nearly 20 million won a year, managing the operational expenses for the next ten years is even more critical than the initial 2.3 billion won total project cost.”

140,000 Visitors, Only 1,400 Valid Data Entries... Is This Really 'Big Data'?

The effectiveness of the project was also questioned. Critics argued that the amount of data collected was so insufficient compared to the cumulative number of visitors that the label "Big Data" was misleading.

Park said, “The center has accumulated 149,000 visitors, but only 1,100 data points from smartwatches and 360 from kiosks have been collected—just about 1,400 valid data entries in total. Is it appropriate to call this a big data platform given the 2.3 billion won investment?” The executive branch explained, “We are currently in trial operation since May, and from August, as full operation begins, the amount of data will increase.”

In addition, concerns were raised about the fact that, despite handling sensitive health information, the project failed to conduct the legally required procedures for personal information protection. Under the Personal Information Protection Act, a "personal information impact assessment" is mandatory when processing sensitive information for more than 50,000 people, but Wando County did not conduct this assessment.

When Director Kim argued that “The collected information is anonymized and thus does not require the assessment,” Park countered, “As the number of visitors has already exceeded 140,000, an immediate personal information impact assessment is necessary to address legal concerns.”

Issues regarding system stability and administrative trust were also discussed. Persistent on-site inconveniences—including real-time booking errors, payment and ticketing delays, and kiosk facial recognition failures—continue, but Wando County failed to present any objective indicators of improvement. When asked for figures on reservation wait times or improvements in work efficiency after the platform was established, Director Kim replied, “There is no data in the previous program, so a simple comparison is difficult,” revealing lack of preparation.

Park further pointed out a recent incident in which a public announcement for regular and government employee recruitment was suddenly canceled due to budget constraints after four people had applied, noting “Such reversals undermine public trust in county administration.”

Additionally, councilwoman Jimin requested a re-presentation of future plans for the 13 projects under the Marine Healing Office, a core initiative in the eighth popular election of Wando County, in accordance with the office’s core principles, and the executive branch agreed.

The Wando County Council emphasized that, given the massive investment in this flagship project, meticulous review of future operating expenses, system stabilization, and strict compliance with legal procedures must be ensured moving forward.

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