‘Sudden controversy’ Chungbuk Provincial Park Golf Course is criticized by the provincial council

“It’s not a normal administrative structure” and “Citizens’ trust has fallen”

(Cheongju = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Chang-hae = Chungbuk Provincial Park Golf Course, which was built amid criticism of 'hasty administration with a change of order,' received criticism during the provincial council's administrative audit.

Oh Chang-geun, a member of the Provincial Council's Welfare and Culture Committee, criticized the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau's inspection held on the 11th, saying, "According to the results of the self-audit of the Provincial Park Golf Course in North Chungcheong Province, it was revealed that 6 lots of private land and 1 lot of city-owned land in Cheongju were used without permission. Not only does it erode trust in the provincial administration, but it does not appear to be a normal administrative structure."

He then said, “According to Supreme Court precedent, if a local government uses land without permission, it can file a lawsuit for return of unjust enrichment,” and asked, “Will the results of a specific audit end up as a ‘caution’?”

Rep. Heo Cheol pointed out, “The relocation of the livestock facility has not been confirmed, and there are many questions, including the unsecured right to use private land and insufficient prior procedures,” and added, “In the end, it can only be understood that it was promoted hastily without following the procedural steps under someone’s instructions.”

Rep. Lee Tae-hoon raised his voice, saying, “The most painful part is that the province, which had the right to license for reasons of public interest, ignored administrative procedures and pushed ahead with the project,” adding, “I wonder what attitude the local government would have taken if the private sector had followed these procedures.”

Rep. Jo Seong-ryong emphasized, “No matter how good the purpose of a project is, if it is promoted without regard to administrative procedures, it cannot receive the trust of the citizens.”

In response to this, Choi Seung-hwan, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, said, "As the demand for park golf increased rapidly, there was insufficient consultation with institutions due to the urgency to create it quickly." He added, "We plan to negotiate and purchase the issue of private land and city-owned land."

Chungcheongbuk-do spent 4.7 billion won from January to October 2025, during the 8th popular election, to build a 45-hole provincial park golf course on about 50,000 square meters of grassland at the Livestock Technology Research Institute (former livestock testing site) in Naesu-eup, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju.

However, at the time, there was criticism from the local community that the project was pushed ahead without even confirming the plan to relocate the Livestock Technology Research Institute, calling it a 'hasty administration with a change of precedence'.

This is because North Chungcheong Province's plan to spend 45 billion won to relocate the current livestock testing center to Yeongdong-gun by 2029 was temporarily suspended as it failed to pass the central investment review of local finances by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The livestock technology research institute relocation project has not yet passed the investment review, so at least six years are needed before the final relocation.

In a recent specific audit of North Chungcheong Province, it was revealed that the project was promoted without prior procedures, such as securing ownership and use rights for 6 parcels of private land (4,048㎡) and 1 parcel of Cheongju City-owned land (99㎡).

Chungdo has allocated 1.6 billion won in budget for the normalization of the provincial park golf course, including the cost of purchasing the land in question, in next year's budget.