Suwon Imposes Water Bills on 1,000+ Households Without Meter Readings

Suwon City has faced public complaints over charging water bills arbitrarily for years without reading water meters. In particular, 1,387 households across the city received water bills totaling approximately 320 million won that were improperly charged, drawing criticism.

According to the city on the 30th, an audit by the Office of Audit conducted a water meter reading investigation covering the entire Suwon area from March to May for a two-month period, examining records from 2005 onwards. The investigation revealed that at 1,387 buildings in Maesandong and Seodundong areas, the meter readings did not match actual usage amounts. It is reported that over 1,300 cases were discovered in areas assigned to water meter readers A and B alone. These individuals were found to have gone without taking water meter readings for a minimum of 1 year to over 3 years, arbitrarily recording usage amounts.

Consequently, the city requested disciplinary action against four individuals—including the two meter readers and two supervisory officials who neglected management oversight—through the Gyeonggi Province Personnel Committee, with a disciplinary hearing scheduled for that afternoon. The city plans to take measures including installment payment and waiver of progressive rate surcharges for buildings that were incorrectly charged, ensuring no harm to residents. Currently, approximately 260 locations in Gosaekdong that received incorrect water charges have been placed on payment plans of up to 24 months in installments.

However, the city has faced criticism for failing to properly verify complaints filed by residents who claimed the bills were improperly charged, thereby exacerbating the damages incurred by affected residents.

A resident surnamed K in Seodundong expressed frustration, saying, "Early last year, my son and his family moved out, so the water bill should not have been that high, yet it remained the same every month," adding, "The city zealously collects overtime allowances to line its own pockets while mismanaging taxpayers' money so carelessly."

In particular, experts point out the urgent need for systemic improvements to the "deemed meter reading system"—which calculates an average of three months' usage and reflects it in charges—a policy underlying these improper readings. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the excessive workload, as 28 meter readers handle reading for 63,000 households across Suwon (calculated as one household per apartment complex, approximately 2,250 households per reader).

An official from the City Waterworks Business Division stated, "We plan to deploy approximately 10 meter readers to visit affected households one-on-one in the Seodundong and Topdong areas, which account for 50-60% of victims, for persuasion efforts," adding, "After this situation is resolved, we will explore various measures going forward."