'Dongtan 2' Construction Civil Complaints Must Be Processed Promptly

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that it plans to request the Ministry of Construction and Transportation to promptly issue guidelines for civil complaint processing, related to the government's decision to hold back on handling development civil complaints in the Dongtan 2 New City area early next week.

As the processing of construction permit-related civil complaints in the Dongtan-myeon area, which were filed before the Dongtan 2 New City announcement, remains suspended, dissatisfaction among the complainants is growing. The decision stems from concerns that if ongoing construction projects are left as-is, increased construction progress rates could raise building compensation costs, thereby significantly inflating the new city project budget.

Mayor Choi Young-geun stated, "While we understand the intent to curb speculation in the Dongtan 2 district and surrounding areas, we cannot indefinitely postpone civil complaint processing." He added, "Particularly for construction activities already underway in the Dongtan area before the new city announcement, there is no way to stop them. However, if we continue allowing buildings that will be demolished to be constructed, compensation costs will increase, which will lead to higher project expenses and ultimately cause national losses."

Accordingly, the city plans to submit a petition to the Ministry of Construction and Transportation on the 11th requesting prompt processing guidelines. The petition will cover construction permit-related civil complaints filed during the past month in the Dongtan area, as well as those filed just before the new city announcement on May 31-June 1, and buildings that have received commencement reports and are under construction.

According to the City's East Branch Office, 464 construction permit-related civil complaints—including construction permits, reports, and commencement reports—were filed during May in the Dongtan area. Of these, nearly half, 216 cases (46.5%), have had their processing suspended due to delayed interdepartmental consultations and the new city announcement.

An official from the City's East Branch Office, which handles construction permits in Dongtan-myeon, stated, "We continue to receive complaints and protests from citizens whose administrative processing has been suspended. However, beyond answering that we will decide on approvals upon receiving guidelines from the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, we have no clear solution, which is frustrating."