The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that following the conclusion of the voluntary reporting and removal period for illegal facilities in streams and valleys on June 30, it has begun full-scale administrative enforcement and cleanup procedures for facilities that were not voluntarily removed.
According to the Ministry, as of June 26, approximately 81,000 illegal facilities were identified in streams and valleys nationwide.
Of these, 19,000 have been cleared, while the remaining 62,000 are currently undergoing cleanup procedures, including administrative enforcement, due to a lack of voluntary removal.
Among the facilities yet to be cleared, about 60,000 are related to non-commercial activities, such as illegal structures or unauthorized farming.
The remaining 1,900 or so are commercial facilities, including restaurants, pensions, and campsites, that have encroached upon state-owned land to conduct business.
Administrative enforcement will be prioritized for these unauthorized commercial facilities.
For facilities that are not voluntarily removed, administrative procedures such as advance notices and orders for restoration to the original state will be carried out, and if these are not complied with, forced demolition will ultimately be executed.
In March of this year, administrative enforcement was carried out on an illegally constructed park golf course on the high-water bed of the Yeongsangang River near Naju Bridge, resulting in the completion of the facility's demolition.
Administrative enforcement typically takes about two months per facility.
Kim Gwang-yong, Head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visited the Mulhan Valley area in Yeongdong-gun, North Chungcheong Province, today to inspect the status of the cleanup of illegal facilities in streams and valleys.
After receiving a report from Yeongdong-gun officials on the progress of clearing illegal commercial facilities in the Mulhan Valley area, Kim carefully inspected the sites where restoration work is currently underway.
"Please take strict measures in accordance with the principles and standards of the cleanup," Kim urged. "In particular, I ask that you prioritize the removal of unauthorized commercial facilities installed by restaurants, pensions, guesthouses, and campsites, which attract many visitors during the summer, to minimize inconvenience to the public." (Photo: Provided by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Yonhap News)