Suwon Citizens' Planning Committee: "Lotte Mall Should Open After Gwasun Bridge Completion"

Suwon's Citizens' Planning Committee has proposed that Lotte Mall's opening should be postponed until after the completion of the Gwasun Bridge near Suwon Station, and that large shopping malls in the future should be permitted only after prior win-win measures are agreed upon.

At the first urban planning citizens' discussion held on the 9th at Suwon City Hall's conference room, 89% of the citizens' committee members answered that Lotte Mall's opening should be delayed until after the Gwasun Bridge completion. Regarding future measures for large shopping malls, responses included: prior win-win cooperation plans should be established before permitting entry (73.6%), entry should be permitted (15.7%), and no additional entry should be allowed (9.2%).

Regarding win-win issues with neighboring merchants, opinions were raised including "measures should have been prepared at the business approval stage" and "long-term plans are needed rather than one-time measures."

During the meeting, the citizens' committee watched video interviews presenting positions from Lotte and the merchants' association. In the video interview, a Lotte Mall official stated, "We will discuss the opening date with the city," while a merchants' association official said, "There will be significant damage to traditional markets if Lotte Mall opens."

Suwon's Citizens' Planning Committee was launched in February 2012 with a total of 130 members, including citizens and field experts, as part of the city's citizen participation system for urban planning. The following year, it was also introduced as a good example of urban planning establishment in elementary school fourth-grade social studies textbooks.

However, critics argue that Suwon City's inclusion of Lotte Mall's opening permit on the citizens' committee agenda—which has no legal binding force—appears to be merely building justification to (as reported by this newspaper on August 7) "block public backlash" rather than genuine citizen participation.

Some point out that instead of placing the matter on the citizens' committee agenda as opening approaches, the city should have sought public opinion from the beginning of Mayor Yeom Tae-young's tenure and conducted concrete initiatives accordingly.

Meanwhile, Suwon City responded to this newspaper's request to disclose the citizens' committee member list, stating on the 8th that "it cannot be revealed due to individual privacy concerns."

This request was made following reports that most committee participants are not "ordinary citizens" but are instead affiliated with civic organizations in the Suwon area, and this disclosure was sought to verify such claims.