"Why Do We Have Reviews?"... Jeong Han-sol, Bupyeong District Council Member, Criticizes 'Disempowerment of Community Projects'

Criticism has been raised that the 'Creating Community' project, a public project in Bupyeong District, Incheon, is being poorly managed, with plans arbitrarily changed during reviews. Despite being a project funded by taxpayer money, the lax management that reaches the level of 'disempowerment of reviews' is repeatedly occurring, highlighting the urgent need for thorough countermeasures.

On the 30th, Jeong Han-sol, a council member of Bupyeong District Council (Independent, Sangok 1 & 2-dong, Cheongcheon 1 & 2-dong), focused on the chronic mismanagement and lack of transparency in accounting of community project applications during the major business report of the Administrative Welfare Committee at the 274th extraordinary session.

Referring to a specific community project, Council Member Jeong stated, "The original draft at the time of review has completely disappeared, and the project has been filled with a modified plan that only changed the name internally," and strongly criticized, "If it is acceptable to discard the reviewed original plan just because it meets the purpose, then why do we even conduct public reviews?" This is pointed out as an act that effectively renders the public review process useless.

Issues of accounting fraud and lack of documentation were also brought to light. Council Member Jeong mentioned the recently reported issue regarding instructor fees, stating, "The data from Botame (National Treasury Subsidy Management System) was deleted, and ultimately, the inability to provide documentation for instructor fees led to recovery measures, which is a serious matter." He further criticized the department's complacent response, saying, "There is a level of suspicion as to whether the data deletion was a voluntary recovery or an act of evidence destruction."

In response, the head of the Bupyeong District Administrative Affairs Department explained, "This occurred because organizations can modify until the project is confirmed, but the undocumented portions were fully recovered," and added, "From this year, we will establish clear management guidelines and thoroughly manage to prevent accounting fraud or arbitrary changes through practical training using the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's permanent training center."

While proposing ways to activate the hometown love donation system, Council Member Jeong maintained a firm stance on community projects. He stated, "It is good for community projects to become a lifeline for residents, but the execution of the budget must be transparent," and urged, "While lowering the entry barriers, the department must strictly monitor the taxpayer money that has been invested through constant monitoring."