Suwon City Selected as Exemplary Case for Proactive Administration in Ministry of Interior and Safety's 'Shadow and Behavioral Regulation Improvement'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Special City's case of ‘Eliminating Obstacles to EV Fast-Charging Facility Installation through Improvement of Public Property Payment Practices’ has been selected as an exemplary case in the evaluation of ‘Q4 2023 Exemplary Cases of Proactive Administration for Shadow and Behavioral Regulation Improvement’ conducted by the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety evaluates and selects exemplary cases of proactive administration that have improved shadow and behavioral regulations from local governments nationwide on a quarterly basis. In this evaluation, seven exemplary cases were selected, including Suwon City's case, out of 611 cases submitted by local governments across the country.

Suwon City received high marks for actively resolving the issue of public property usage fees with Korea Electric Power Corporation regarding transformer sharing to address the burden of EV fast-charging equipment installation for business operators within public institutions.

To install EV fast-charging stations, power transformers are required. However, Korea Electric Power Corporation had been refusing to pay public property usage fees, citing that transformers installed within public institutions are not subject to usage fees, resulting in continuous complaints about the lack of fast-charging stations at public institutions.

The city first investigated the status of public property usage fee payments for transformers within Gyeonggi Province, carefully reviewed related laws (Public Property Act), and then inquired with the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

The city received a response from the Ministry of Interior and Safety stating that “it does not qualify for usage fee exemption.” In October of last year, the city visited Korea Electric Power Corporation's headquarters in Naju and requested that “Korea Electric Power Corporation pay public property usage fees so that EV fast-charging station installation projects can proceed smoothly.”

In November of last year, Suwon City held a ‘Public-Private Joint Meeting to Resolve Difficulties in Installing EV Fast-Charging Stations’ with veteran city officials, Korea Electric Power Corporation's Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters, and charging service operators to seek solutions.

As a result, Korea Electric Power Corporation, reflecting Suwon City's opinions, decided to directly pay public property usage fees instead of implementing customary practices such as paying usage fees on behalf of installation operators or signing free-use agreements.

Meanwhile, the city had its ‘Smart Comprehensive Management of Public Property Using QGIS (Geographic Information System Application): Smart Management!’ case selected as a new case in the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Q1 proactive administration regulatory improvement exemplary case evaluation last year.

A city official stated, “Being selected as an exemplary case in Q4 following the selection as a new case in Q1 last year demonstrates that Suwon is emerging as a leading city in regulatory innovation,” adding, “Going forward, we will do our best to identify regulations that inconvenience business activities and citizens' lives and resolve difficulties.”