Breaking Suwon City Council Chairman Faces Backlash for Illegal Banner Posting Using Taxpayer Funds
[News S = Reporter Jung Jun-seong] As promotional banners capitalizing on the holiday atmosphere proliferate and drawing frowns from Suwon citizens (News S report on the 5th), it has come to light that the Suwon City Council Chairman's banners were illegally installed, sparking controversy.
In particular, strong criticism is mounting after it was revealed that the chairman's banners, contrary to initial reports that they were privately installed, were actually produced and posted using Suwon taxpayers' money.
According to the Suwon City Council Administrative Team, unlike the 44 "Lunar New Year greetings" banners under the name of "Suwon Metropolitan Council Members" that were installed at designated display areas, banners bearing the name "Suwon Metropolitan Council Chairman Kim Ki-jeong" were installed at 7 locations including overpasses throughout Suwon.
However, to install banners on overpasses in Suwon, advance cooperation and approval from the Suwon Urban Design Division is required, but the chairman's banners were indiscriminately installed without following proper procedures.
Based on confirmed information, the chairman's banner production request and posting were conducted under prior internal consultation among the chairman, secretariat director, and related officials, with the council's Administrative Team taking the lead. Given these circumstances, it appears those involved were aware beforehand that the banner posting was illegal.
Regarding this, a spokesperson from the Suwon Urban Design Division, which has authorization authority for outdoor advertising on overpasses, stated that they "received no prior consultation request regarding the council chairman's posted banners" and "while the current situation appears to indicate illegal banners, a thorough inspection would be needed for confirmation."
According to current Suwon City regulations on outdoor advertisements, the approximately 20 overpasses located within Suwon have very stringent standards for promotional material posting set by law. Only public-purpose municipal promotion and official event promotions related to culture and sports can be displayed in the form of fixed signs. Consequently, regular "banners" are prohibited.
Nevertheless, the Suwon City Council Chairman's banners are being displayed in banner form, and their content consists of personal "Lunar New Year holiday greetings."
As this fact became known, citizens are pouring out criticism, calling it "illegal use of privilege." They are also demanding removal, saying "civil servants who demonstrated loyalty are not free from responsibility for wasteful use of citizens' tax money."
Choi Mo, a resident of Youngtong-gu, Suwon, said, "It is shocking that the head of city council, an institution that should be tightening regulations to prevent the proliferation of illegal banners, has committed this illegal act. Considering that city council members are elected public officials, this is treating the voters who elected them with contempt. Whether the chairman didn't know that permits were required constitutes neglect of duty, and if it was done knowingly, it constitutes abuse of authority, so the legal violations must be thoroughly investigated," he added.
Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Suwon City Council secretariat director who led the illegal banner posting for fact confirmation were unsuccessful. Additionally, while the council's Administrative Team spokesperson said they would "investigate and state their position on whether there were legal violations in the posting procedures," they have remained silent to date.