The Number of Collective Complaint Mediations “Doubled” in 2023, Resolving Long-standing Issue Raised by 120,000 Local Residents

- Launching the Collective Complaint Task Force to identify regional conflicts in advance and listen to voices on the ground -

(December 28, 2023, ACRC)

A large-scale collective complaint triggered by prolonged conflicts between local residents and administrative agencies was “mediated,” resolving a longstanding issue raised by 120,000 local residents.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) resolved a total of 211 collective complaints, including by mediating* 63 cases out of 360 collective complaints raised by multiple persons of 5 people or more.

* In accordance with Article 45 of the “ACRC Act,” ACRC conducts mediation for grievance complaints that involve multiple persons or are deemed to have a significant impact on society, initiated at the request of persons concerned or by its authority. If successfully concluded, the mediation has the effect of reconciliation under the Civil Act.

In the wake of the spread of COVID-19, the number of mediated collective complaints decreased to 41 and 33 in 2021 and 2022, respectively, from 53 in 2020 over the past two years.

In this regard, ACRC launched the Collective Complaint Task Force team in 2023, while identifying issues regarding conflicts in advance and strengthening onsite visits by monitoring regional pending issues of local governments and media reports.

As a result, as of December 2023, the number of mediated cases amounted to 63, reflecting a two-fold (91%) increase compared to the previous year, while the number of citizens benefiting from the mediation more than doubled, reaching 116,107 from 45,000 in 2019.

The representative cases addressed in 2023 include a collective complaint regarding the “request for the completion of the Youngju Multipurpose Dam, delayed due to the restoration of cultural assets” (raised by 33,434 people) and a collective complaint on the “lifting of the military facility protection area at Anheung Castle in Taean for repair and public access” (raised by 19,544 people).

The construction of the Youngju multipurpose dam began in 2009 with the purpose of ensuring a reliable water supply and preventing flood damage. However, there has been a seven-year delay in the completion of the dam resulting from the delay in settling project costs for the relocation and restoration of cultural assets, due to differing opinions among relevant agencies in 2016.

In August, through arbitration by ACRC, Youngju-si and the Korea Water Resources Corporation settled the project costs associated with the relocation and restoration of cultural assets conducted up to date. Subsequently, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Water Resources Corporation have agreed to initiate the administrative procedure for approving the completion of the dam once the project costs are settled. All these efforts expedited the approval of completion in the same month, resolving long-standing issues raised by residents.

Anheung Castle in Taean, Chunchungnam-do is a stone castle standing at a height of 3.5 meters with a perimeter of 1.7 kilometers, holding significant value as cultural assets.

However, in 1976, the Anheung Center of the Agency for Defense Development was established, which restricted access to approximately 45% of the castle’s areas. Moreover, the castle was designated as an important national facility in 2022. Consequently, there have been limitations on restoration and repair, causing inconveniences for local residents.

Following the arbitration by ACRC in September, Taean-gun and the Agency for Defense Development agreed to discover and restore Anheung Castle by 2025 through identifying the areas to be opened to the public. The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to provide support to ensure that Taean-gun completes restoration of the Castle and opens it to the public in a timely manner, resolving long-standing issues raised by local residents.

ACRC Vice Chairperson Kim Tae-Gyu said, “ACRC’s “mediation” is a meaningful function ensuring that residents and administrative agencies seek ways for the co-existence. Since it holds significant impact on the livelihood of citizens, we will actively resolve pending issues of conflicts by listening to the voices on the ground and enhancing the Collective Complaint Task Force team.”