Gyeonggi Province Rechecks Rivers and Valleys... Special Police Enforce Zero-Tolerance Policy on Illegal Activities

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] The Gyeonggi Province Special Police will conduct intensive investigations into illegal activities at famous vacation sites including rivers and valleys across the province from June 27 to July 17 as the summer vacation season approaches.

The investigation targets 360 popular vacation sites including major valleys and rivers across the province, such as the renowned Gapyeong Valley, Eobi Valley, and Yonggyeong Valley in Yangpyeong.

This investigation is aimed at preventing the reinstallation of illegal facilities such as wooden decks that were previously removed from valleys as part of river illegal activity cleanup efforts that have been ongoing since 2019.

The province plans to conduct focused investigations into illegal lodging facilities, restaurants, and campgrounds where safety management is vulnerable, to proactively block factors that threaten public safety.

Key investigation targets include ▲installation of illegal facilities such as portable decks in valleys ▲operation of unregistered campgrounds ▲business of unreported restaurants and lodging facilities ▲unsanitary food preparation practices.

Those who occupy river areas without permission face up to 2 years imprisonment or fines up to 20 million won under the Rivers Act; unreported restaurants face up to 3 years imprisonment or fines up to 30 million won under the Food Sanitation Act; unregistered campgrounds face up to 2 years imprisonment or fines up to 20 million won under the Tourism Promotion Act.

Through active efforts by the Gyeonggi Province Special Police, incidents of illegal river activities have been declining annually: ▲2019: 142 cases (illegal occupation/use 49 cases, restaurant/lodging illegal activities 77 cases, unregistered campgrounds 16 cases) ▲2020: 74 cases (illegal occupation/use 28 cases, restaurant/lodging illegal activities 35 cases, unregistered campgrounds 11 cases) ▲2021: 47 cases (illegal occupation/use 7 cases, restaurant/lodging illegal activities 23 cases, unregistered campgrounds 17 cases).

Kim Min-kyung, Chief of Gyeonggi Province's Special Police, said "We will continue to manage clean valleys and apply zero-tolerance principles for illegal activities to ensure residents can safely and comfortably enjoy summer vacations."

The Gyeonggi Province Civil Special Police accepts reports of illegal activities from residents through their website (www.gg.go.kr/gg_special_cop) or the Gyeonggi Province call center (031-120).