School Site Supply Dispute in Gwanggyo New City Reaches Resolution

A prolonged dispute over school site supply in Gwanggyo New City, which had sparked controversy over a "new city without schools," has been resolved as four co-operators reached an agreement on a free-supply plan.

Gyeonggi Urban Corporation announced on the 22nd that it had finalized an agreement with four co-operators—Gyeonggi Province, Suwon City, Yongin City, and Gyeonggi Urban Corporation—after five rounds of meetings regarding the supply method for school sites to be established in Gwanggyo New City (six elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools).

However, elementary and middle school sites will be provided completely free of charge, while high school sites will be handled on a "first free use, then settlement" basis. Additionally, the method of securing funds will be discussed again when the project formally begins.

With this agreement, an agenda can now be submitted to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education's School Establishment Review Committee scheduled to convene on the 29th. In particular, schools are expected to open in April 2011 when residents begin moving in, which should avert the school shortage crisis that had been of concern.

Previously, Suwon City and Yongin City had resisted, arguing that the province was shifting school site charges that should be borne by the province to co-operators, creating conflicts over the school site supply issue. Moreover, the Provincial Office of Education had excluded budget allocation for schools planned to be established in Gwanggyo, citing the province's failure to pay school site charges that amounted to nearly 1 trillion won.

The outcome of this agreement is expected to have a positive impact on similarly situated areas such as Gimpo Hangang New City and Suwon's Homaesiltak Site District.