"이장 말 믿고 동의했는데"…애물단지 된 충주 '8억 시설' / KBS 2026.06.23.

This is the Eoullim Center, which was completed last January. The facility is empty, with only protest banners hanging outside. Residents agreed to the project after hearing the former village head explain that a village hall and a senior center would be newly constructed with state funding. However, when they attempted to move the senior center to the newly completed facility, Chungju City issued a notice prohibiting its use, stating that it must be used solely as a village hall. Residents who, under the leadership of the former village head, disposed of the existing senior center and supplemented their village operating funds to purchase the site for the Eoullim Center are now protesting. [Lee Eul-sang / Dongmak Village Resident: "Since they said we cannot use it as a senior center, the building has become a white elephant. After paying for the land with our village operating funds, our village has become destitute."] The budget invested in the improvement of the area, including the construction of the Eoullim Center and a bridge, amounts to 800 million won. Residents claim that the former village head purchased the center site and surrounding land—which was previously landlocked—in advance to coincide with the project's push, and that ultimately, only he benefited. [Former Head of Dongmak Village / Voice altered: "Typically, each village shares the village hall and the senior center. I didn't know (that it couldn't be used as a senior center). If I knew, I wouldn't be a fool, so why would I do this?"] As the situation escalated into a conflict among residents, Chungju City belatedly began to assess the situation. [Park Byeong-gu / Head of Chungju City Rural Development Team: "We are currently verifying the facts. We are reviewing whether there are administrative measures, such as a partial change of use, to allow it to be used as a senior center."] The Eoullim Center, built with massive tax money for the residents. However, it remains a closed building that the residents themselves have turned their backs on. This is Lee Gyu-myeong for KBS News. Cameraman: Choi Young-jun / Video Editor: Jung Jin-wook ▣ View Original KBS Article: http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?nc... ▣ Send a Tip ◇ KakaoTalk: Search 'KBS제보' ◇ Phone: 02-781-1234 ◇ Website: https://goo.gl/4bWbkG ◇ Email: [email protected] Copyright ⓒ KBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use (including AI learning) are prohibited. #ChungjuCity #EoullimCenter #SeniorCenter #Useless #CommunityCenter #LocalNews #Cheongju #VillageHead #NoticeOfRejection