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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Jecheon prison plan will be decided by public poll

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Jecheon is surveying 1,500 residents on whether to pursue a proposed Ministry of Justice correctional facility, with the poll closing September 5.
  • The city says it will proceed if a majority supports the prison and abandon the plan if voters oppose it.
  • Supporters cite investment, jobs and population inflows, while opponents say Jecheon should pursue businesses, tourism and other alternatives.

Jecheon is preparing for a public poll that could determine whether the South Korean city seeks to host a prison. Residents are split between seeing the facility as a response to population decline and fearing that it could damage Jecheon’s clean regional image.

The city commissioned Korea Research to conduct face-to-face surveys of 1,500 residents from August 27. The poll ends September 5, and Jecheon plans to announce the results around September 8. The city says it will pursue the project if more than half of respondents support it, but drop the plan immediately if they oppose it.

For Jecheon to survive, residents must feel a sense of crisis, and the city must use strategic measures and political influence to attract public institutions and correctional facilities.

— Choi Myeong-hyunThe civic committee leader argued that a prison could help address Jecheon’s population crisis.

At a public hearing on August 20, attended by more than 1,000 residents, the two sides presented sharply different views. Choi Myeong-hyun, head of a civic committee seeking public institutions, said Jecheon needed strategic action and political influence to attract public institutions and correctional facilities. Park Seong-hee of the Jecheon Christian Businessmen’s Association said a prison could be one option, but not the only answer. He called for efforts to attract strong companies, create jobs and develop tourism while using the city’s natural environment and clean image.

Hosting a prison could be one option for Jecheon’s development, but it is not the only solution.

— Park Seong-heePark opposed treating the prison as the city’s sole answer to population decline.

The Ministry of Justice proposed installing a correctional facility in Jecheon on May 8. Its subsequent call for sites requires at least 192,000 square meters. The ministry plans four facilities, each holding 1,000 inmates and employing 250 staff. Applications are due in October and November, site selection is planned for December, and completion is scheduled for around December 2034.

Jecheon estimates that one such facility could generate 240 billion won during construction from 2031 to 2034 and 160 billion won during operations from 2035 to 2065. The city also forecasts 250 jobs, annual spending of more than 5 billion won by staff and families, 15,000 annual visitors, an inflow of 800 residents and 65 jobs for local talent. Jecheon’s population stood at 128,043 at the end of July, down 6.2% from 136,517 at the end of 2016.

If support is high, we plan to open a call for candidate sites among the city’s towns and neighborhoods around September 9 or 10.

— Seong Won-seokA Jecheon official described the next step if the poll favors the proposal.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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