Residents in Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province, are divided over the construction of a new complex which will house a prison and offices for legal service provision and law enforcement.
According to the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the project, the construction will be completed by the end of 2017.
Recently, 236 county residents who oppose the project filed a complaint against Geochang Mayor Lee Hong-gi and three other county government officials. The residents allege that the mayor and the other officials inflated the number of proponents for the project by forging their signatures. The complex project received an approval from the ministry in 2011 based on these signatures. Preparations for the construction of the project began last year.
The Hankook Ilbo daily raised the allegations on Friday, saying the signatures collected from residents were fraudulent. Almost 29,000 people signed in favor of the project in 2011, this accounts for just under 47 percent of the county population. The paper said the book of signatures looked identical.
These signatures were submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court on March 9, 2011, which then gave final approval. The Ministry of Justice said it chose Geochang because of the high public approval rate.
The county government and a committee that worked to host the complex later admitted to forging the signatures. “People made signatures on behalf of their friends, families and neighbors,” one committee member said. This is a common practice in Korean society.
The justice ministry responded by saying its decision won’t be affected by the revelations.
“It’s hard to prove that the signatures were forged. We just need to communicate with residents in order for them to understand the situation,” one ministry official said.
The complex which will contain a prison, a regional prosecution office and a court, will also have office space for law firms that will relocate there. According to the plan, the prison will take up 3/4 of the 200,418 square meters, which has particularly upset the opposing residents.
“We were totally deceived. If we had known that a big chunk of the complex was to be spared for a prison facility, we would not have accepted it,” said one opponent.
Experts say the problem is rooted with a government that chooses not to share all the information with the public.
“The prevalent belief among civil workers is that in order to get the project done as quickly as possible, they should not release all the information,” a source said.
He added this working culture runs deep in Korean society, resulting in continuous conflicts. “And they are paid with tax payers’ money.”