Shinan County Files Complaint Against Former Governor Park Woo-ryang Over Alleged Occupational Breach of Trust; "Seeks Probe into Four Projects Under Previous Administration"

Urban forest land swap, advance payment for safe lodging, tree donations and 939 private contracts under scrutiny

Shinan County in Jeonnam-Gwangju has filed a complaint with investigative authorities, alleging possible violations of the law in budget execution and contracting procedures for major projects pursued during the tenure of former county governor Park Woo-ryang, who served in the 7th and 8th popularly elected administrations.

On Nov. 6, the county said it had filed a complaint against Park on suspicion of occupational breach of trust and other offenses in connection with four projects: the Jido Climate-Responsive Urban Forest project, the Salt Farm Workers’ Safe Lodging project, the Donated Trees project, and the One Island, One Garden project to make the islands bloom year-round.

Sinan County Office Building.

The complaint centers on questions about the propriety of exchanges involving public property, the execution of budgets worth tens of billions of won, and repeated private contracts for certain projects.

First, investigators are looking into the exchange of 107 privately owned parcels in Jido-eup for one county-owned parcel in Sinui-myeon as part of the Jido Climate-Responsive Urban Forest project. The county asked them to examine why trees were planted before the transfer of ownership was completed and whether the procedures for exchanging public property were proper.

The county also cited an estimate that leasing the county-owned land involved in the exchange for solar power generation could have generated about 5 billion won in revenue over the next 20 years, and called for an investigation into whether the exchange caused financial losses to the county.

The Salt Farm Workers’ Safe Lodging project is also under investigation. Key questions include why 2.73 billion won of the project’s total cost of 4 billion won was paid in advance, and whether relevant contracting rules, including those governing open bidding, were followed in selecting the construction company.

In the Donated Trees project, which included the creation of a scenic hackberry tree path, investigators are examining why 42.9 billion won in county funds was spent on expenses such as uprooting and transporting more than 1.67 million trees donated to the county.

The county also asked investigators to review the basis for valuing the trees at 117.3 billion won and the criteria and spending records for the 23.4 billion won in rewards for donations.

The One Island, One Garden project to make the islands bloom year-round involved contracts worth a total of 39.9 billion won with the Garden Tree Cooperative. The county asked investigators to determine whether splitting the contracts into amounts of no more than 50 million won each and awarding them through 939 private contracts complied with relevant regulations.

The county said the complaint was not intended to deny the policy achievements of the previous administration, but was a measure to clarify allegations raised about the projects and protect residents’ property and the public interest.

Shinan County Governor Kim Tae-seong said, "The foundations of county administration are accountability to residents and fairness in public administration. Even when questions arise about projects pursued in the past, it is the administration’s responsibility to establish the objective facts and take necessary action based on the findings."

The county plans to consider administrative and legal follow-up measures based on the investigation’s findings and review its overall systems for managing public property, contracting, and budget execution.

However, the complaint is a request for an investigation into allegations raised by the county; the allegations against former county governor Park have not been established. Whether any laws were violated and who bears responsibility are expected to be determined through the investigation and judicial proceedings.

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