Controversy over 70% budget execution without detailed design documents

In April 2024, Sinan-gun issued a public notice to recruit private consignment operators to address operational issues and a lack of amenities in the existing Ansim Stay Zone 1. This was an attempt to shift the Ansim Stay's operating model to a private management system, with plans to create necessary amenities in conjunction with a hotel construction project. A Sinan-gun official explained the situation at the time, stating, "At that time, we were operating Ansim Stay Zone 1 and we were trying to change the operational part to private management due to some problems."

A Sinan-gun official stated that they intended to share amenities by linking with a private investment hotel project. The original Palgeum site had poor locational conditions and issues with public land, so the project site was moved to Appae, and Ansim Stay was also moved to the vicinity of the hotel site. The Sinan-gun official mentioned, "There was a project to build a hotel, a different private investment attraction project, so we tried to link with that person," explaining the background of linking with the hotel project.

The host raised suspicions that the budget received for Ansim Stay construction was actually used to purchase private hotel land. It was pointed out that using public funds to purchase land for private facilities is an inexplicable method of budget execution, considering the principle that private facilities should be built with private capital. The host argued, "Instead, that hotel or amenity facility is a private facility, so shouldn't it be built with private money? But now, Sinan-gun received money to build Ansim Stay, and that money was used not for Ansim Stay but to buy land for a private hotel, right?"

Suspicions arose that the sudden change of the project site from Palgeum to Appae was influenced by the MOU signed between Mayor Park Woo-ryang and Jang Won, the CEO of the construction company. A resident of Sinan-gun commented on the background of the site change, saying, "At that time, there was a lot of talk among residents about the hotel site during the process of moving to Appae. It was said that relatives of Mayor Park Woo-ryang owned a significant portion of it." It was also pointed out that Ansim Stay was relocated as a subordinate to the hotel site change, and the clear causal relationship for proceeding with a specific company and Ansim Stay together is unclear.

The host raised suspicions that Sinan-gun gave excessive preferential treatment to specific companies operated by Jang Won, such as Won Architecture and Stavianium. Allegations of collusion with these companies during Mayor Park Woo-ryang's tenure also emerged. The host questioned, "I'm really curious why Sinan-gun gave so much preferential treatment to companies like Won Architecture and Stavianium, which are run by Mr. Jang Won. Do you know anything about this?"

A New 탐사 reporter once again pointed out the situation where the budget for Ansim Stay was used to purchase private hotel land. It was suspected that during the mayor's term, public funds were used to first secure the land, and the hotel construction was planned to be pursued when the mayor returned to office later. The reporter highlighted the lack of related supporting documents, stating, "There isn't any. What you saw earlier is all there is."

A Sinan-gun official explained that the 2.7 billion won budget was disbursed without detailed design documents because it is permissible to disburse funds in advance for subsidy projects. The official stated, "Since it's a subsidy project, it is possible to receive a subsidy application and disburse the funds," and explained that the subsidy was not paid directly to the company but was deposited into a subsidy account. This was based on the logic that, unlike progress payments, budgets for subsidy projects can be disbursed in advance.

A Sinan-gun official stated that the subsidy is currently only deposited in a specific account. With the project now suspended, Sinan-gun is continuously demanding the return of the subsidy from the company and has confirmed that the return process is underway through official documents. The official added, "It is deposited in that account."

A New 탐사 reporter pointed out that projects for constructing facilities do not fall under private consignment according to the Local Government Contract Act. Private consignment is generally limited to operation and management after completion, so promoting facility construction itself as a private consignment is inappropriate. This was presented as further evidence suggesting that the diverted funds might have been used to purchase hotel land. The reporter emphasized, "Projects for constructing facilities do not fall under private consignment projects."

A New 탐사 reporter questioned whether the 2.7 billion won subsidy actually remains in the account. If the deposited funds are not actually there, the situation where Sinan-gun demands a refund from the company could be interpreted as even more serious. The reporter pointed out the current situation, saying, "Since there's no 2.7 billion, now they're telling them to return that 2.7 billion to the county, right?"

The host pointed out that Ansim Stay for salt farm workers cannot be promoted as a private consignment if built with subsidies, as there is a risk of it becoming private property. The ownership of Ansim Stay must belong to Sinan-gun, and facility construction itself cannot be privately consigned. The host stated, "Ansim Stay itself is for the salt farm workers of Sinan-gun, so its ownership must belong to Sinan-gun. Therefore, the construction of the facility itself cannot be privately consigned."

The host questioned the Ansim Stay site selection process. It was revealed that in June of last year, Sinan-gun compensated for two plots of land owned by Mr. Jang Won, and six months later, requested a change of the Ansim Stay site to Jeollanam-do. This is an administrative procedure where the sequence of land compensation followed by site change is reversed, and 180 million won in compensation was paid to purchase land owned by Mr. Jang Won under the pretext of securing county land. The host stated, "In June of last year, Sinan-gun compensated for the two plots of land owned by Mr. Jang Won, which were planned for Ansim Stay, and six months later, the change of the Ansim Stay site to Jeollanam-do happened after that."

A Sinan-gun official explained that the reason for the project site change was that land had to be secured first to request a project plan change from the province. The original Palgeum site was county-owned, making project promotion possible, but to move the site, land had to be secured before a project change request could be made to the province. The official explained, "To request a project plan change from the province, Palgeum was initially secured and it was county-owned, so it was possible. If we were to move from Palgeum, we had to secure the land first and then request a project change, so we did that first in June."

A Sinan-gun official stated that 1.83 billion won disbursed by June 2025 was confirmed, but could not clearly answer whether the balance in the subsidy account was currently confirmed. The official mentioned that it is difficult for a public official to know the confirmation process of the main office, revealing deficiencies in the management of the 2.73 billion won subsidy. The official said, "What I received was 2.73 billion won before the contract, and then I came here after going through the contract procedure. I confirmed the total disbursed amount of 1.83 billion won by June of last year."

A Sinan-gun official stated that if surrounding land was purchased with subsidies, it would be a clear illegal diversion. If illegal diversion is confirmed, it was emphasized that the obligation to file a complaint, take administrative action, and implement project measures must be fulfilled. The position was also added that verbal reports, not official documents, are not recognized. The official said, "If, as you say, something went wrong, we must report them. If Mr. Jang Won bought the surrounding land with 2.7 billion, that is illegal diversion of subsidies, so we must report this and take administrative action and project measures."

The host revealed that there were unreasonable demands for administrative execution from Mayor Park Geun-soo. It was reported that a section chief-level official in charge of practical matters at the time refused these unreasonable demands and voluntarily transferred to an island region. This suggests internal resistance to unjust work orders and can be interpreted as a backlash from unreasonable administrative execution. The host said, "I heard that the section chief-level official at the time voluntarily transferred to an island due to these unreasonable demands for execution from Park Geun-soo."