Interview Guri City Council Member Kim Yong-hyun: "Until the End of My Term, I Will Focus Only on Guri Citizens and Do My Best"
[News S=Reporter Eom In-yong] Kim Yong-hyun, a member of the Guri City Council (Vice Chair of the Smart Environment Committee at the Gyeonggi Province branch of the People Power Party), is having busy days with little time to spare as he reviews various local pending issues ahead of the year-end season.
During the "354th Regular Session, 2nd Meeting of the Guri City Council," Council Member Kim, who has been visiting major construction sites related to local pending issues one by one, was met exclusively to discuss specific points regarding local pending issues including the "GTX-B Galmat Station Stop," which is the biggest pending issue for Guri City.
▲ Regarding the GTX-B Galmat Station Stop, one of the city's biggest pending issues, what does it mean that astronomical additional costs would be incurred if the train does not stop at Galmat Station?
- The GTX-B Galmat Station stop issue goes beyond whether a station is simply established or not, and is a critical matter directly connected to the living environment as it ties in with residents of Galmat-dong and the current development of Galmat District 2. I believe that the current situation where the operator is delaying negotiations and demanding additional costs requires a stronger response strategy.
Additionally, since the train creates noise of up to 75dB and operates 433 times daily at average intervals of 2.6 minutes when passing through, a stop at Galmat Station is an inevitable choice from an environmental perspective.
▲ What about the "Guri City Ordinance on Reduction of Noise, Vibration, and Fugitive Dust" that Council Member Kim created with such concrete understanding of these issues?
- Including the designation of Galmat-dong as a traffic noise and vibration management area and preparation of specific noise and vibration reduction design plans (deep underground, Gyeongchun Line soundproof tunnel, etc.), I have already urged the Guri City administration to proceed with these ordinances in place.
To be specific, if the Gyeongchun Line area in Galmat-dong, Guri is designated as a traffic noise and vibration management area, the GTX-B private operator will incur astronomical additional costs such as deep underground or Gyeongchun Line soundproof tunnel, and the only way to avoid this is to "install a station" under the "Noise and Vibration Management Act."
▲ What is the structural flaw in the recruitment guidelines for the Guri Station Precinct mixed-use development project?
- In the past recruitment, the paid-in capital of some corporations that expressed interest in participating was only at the level of 1 million to 50 million won. Meanwhile, similar nationwide recruitments clearly specify strict project execution capability requirements such as construction industry registration, construction capability evaluation, housing construction results, and credit ratings, but this recruitment had no qualification requirements whatsoever.
The Guri Station Precinct recruitment guidelines are an exceptional case without even minimum safeguards, the contribution clause stipulated in Article 17 of the recruitment guidelines is legally very weak, and since Guri City is not a party to the contract, it lacks the legal standing to directly demand implementation of contributions. Additionally, the requirements for a third-party beneficiary contract under the Civil Code are not met, making it difficult to guarantee the implementation of contributions.
Also, since the Daechangdong favoritism scandal likewise originated from the recruitment guidelines, ambiguous guidelines could create the same risk at any time.
▲ Recently, as financial investment market overheating and consumption contraction are occurring simultaneously, the sales decline of local small business owners is rapidly intensifying. What are your thoughts?
- Since more than 90% of all businesses in Guri City are composed of small business owners, if we do not respond immediately, commercial district collapse could become a reality.
Due to the short-term overheating of the financial market, households' cash consumption capacity is rapidly decreasing, and as a result, local commercial district sales have dropped 3% to 9% compared to the previous year.
To overcome this crisis situation, the most urgent measures are: △actively encouraging group meetings and public institution dining and events within the region △temporary cashback support for group spending amounts △operating "'Our Neighborhood Consumption Day'" △expansion of city-led events and promoting priority purchases of local products, etc.
In particular, the upcoming year-end and new year period is the last golden opportunity to revitalize small business owners.
▲ The Guri Urban Development Corporation is planning to receive a distribution complex as an in-kind contribution to issue approximately 900 billion won in corporate bonds and participate in Topyeong District 2 and E-commerce businesses. What are your thoughts on this plan?
- If ownership is transferred to the urban development corporation through in-kind contribution, the distribution complex will be excluded from public property, and the rental and parking fees that have been accruing to the city will be transferred to the urban development corporation's revenue, which could severely impact the city's finances, and various rental and parking fee reductions and exemptions being implemented as policy could also be halted.
Additionally, issues with billing rent for public facilities such as the Donggudong Administrative Welfare Center may arise, and concerns include complete renegotiation of lease contracts with tenants such as Lotte Mart, and increased tax burden such as comprehensive real estate tax.
Furthermore, since the Topyeong District 2 and E-commerce business projects have not yet completed district designation and feasibility review, careful judgment is required regarding the timing and necessity of the urban development corporation's business participation. Urgent tasks include: △disclosure of agreements or grounds regarding the urban development corporation's participation in the project △presentation of measures to address revenue decline at the distribution complex and renegotiation of leases △disclosure of L Mart's total arrears, collection results, and future collection plans, etc.
▲ Finally, a word to the citizens?
- With 7 months left until the end of my term, while there have been many shortcomings, I have endeavored to do my best in everything possible for Guri citizens, so I will do my utmost until the end, looking only at Guri citizens with sincere dedication and commitment.