Gyeonggi Province Cracks Down on Outdated Administrative Practices Hindering Businesses

Improper corporate petition processing by local autonomous entities within Gyeonggi Province has yet to be eradicated.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 5th that it conducted an audit on corporate petition processing practices at four local autonomous entities—Seongnam, Ansan, Bucheon, and Gunpo—over the past month, uncovering a total of 11 cases of improper administrative conduct.

In the audit, City A was found to have failed to apply local tax reduction provisions for corporate research facilities and overcharged seven companies a total of 26.64 million won. Additionally, while providing support funds for small and medium enterprises, it exceeded the support limit (500 million won) for 10 companies, resulting in insufficient funds to support other applicants.

City B refused to approve the establishment of a ready-mixed concrete plant citing citizen complaints, lost in administrative litigation, yet filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, delaying the factory establishment by two years and imposing substantial financial burdens on the company.

City C, while processing a citizen petition for factory construction permits, required unnecessary petition documents—such as various certificates that administrative agencies could verify internally—and delayed processing.

Additionally, City D performed approval procedures even for small-scale factories that were not subject to establishment approval, resulting in improper local tax collection.

Accordingly, the province will require two local autonomous entities that overcharged local taxes on corporate real estate to issue refunds of 26.64 million won and will review disciplinary actions against civil servants involved in improper administrative conduct.

The province also urged active reporting of improper administrative practices by administrative agencies that inconvenience factory establishment or corporate activities. (☎080-249-1472)

A provincial official stated, "The audit was conducted to improve administrative practices that illegally and improperly hinder corporate activities without legal basis, yet such conduct has still not been eradicated," adding, "Going forward, we plan to directly visit major companies in the province to hear their difficulties and reflect this feedback in our audit activities."