SHINAN — A yacht tourism venture that Shinan County in South Jeolla Province promoted as the symbol of its marine tourism drive has drawn a series of questions after the county ordered the return of about 2.78 billion won ($2 million) in subsidies. One yacht sits unfinished, and the shareholder register includes a person related to the family of a former county mayor.
Business failure and allegations of favoritism are separate matters. But with a project funded by taxpayer money now at risk of collapse, the county faces pressure to account for the entire process, from the selection of the operator to the change of its largest shareholder. A public-private venture built on public money has become the focus of disputes over inadequate vetting and conflicts of interest.
Major Shareholder Also Built the Yachts, Then Filed for Rehabilitation Two Years Later
According to Shinan County and other sources on the 12th, 1004 Islands Yacht Tourism Co. was established in 2019. Shinan County held 49% and private investors 51%. Public money went in, but private investors held the majority stake.
The private partner at the time was shipbuilder A. The company was both the largest private shareholder and the contractor hired to build the yachts. In effect, a major shareholder in the project company was also the party carrying out the construction work that the subsidies funded. That arrangement has raised questions about the structure of the project from the outset. A key point to verify is what standards Shinan County used to assess shipbuilder A's finances, its capacity to build the yachts, its ability to raise funds and the likelihood that it could complete the work.
Those concerns about inadequate vetting soon materialized. Shipbuilder A signed the yacht construction contract in November 2019. Two years later, in August 2021, it entered court-led rehabilitation. The core partner in a project funded with billions of won in public money had faltered within a short period.
That fact alone does not establish that the selection process was flawed, but whether the county's advance screening was sufficient needs to be examined. Whether the financial risks were identified at the time of selection, whether safeguards were in place in case the project stopped, and whether the disbursement and settlement of subsidies were handled properly are all matters that should be established through a thorough audit. Doing so, critics say, requires the disclosure of the financial statements from that period, the evaluation documents used to select the contractor, the investment agreement and records of how the subsidies were spent.
New Major Shareholder Wongeonchook, and a Former Mayor's Relative on the Register
After shipbuilder A entered rehabilitation, the ownership structure changed again. Through a revision to the investment contract in March 2022, the largest private shareholder became Wongeonchook. As of June 2026, the ownership structure is understood to be Wongeonchook 49.5%, Shinan County 49% and an individual identified as B 1.5%.
Wongeonchook became the largest shareholder, with a stake exceeding the county's. Even after the change, however, the project never got back on track. That has drawn attention to the process by which Wongeonchook became the new major shareholder. With the project now at risk of collapse, the soundness of that decision is also subject to review.
What has made the matter more sensitive is the appearance on the shareholder register of the 1.5% holder identified as B. B is known to be a relative of former county mayor Park Woo-ryang.
Judged by the stake alone, B is not in a position to control management. That cannot immediately be characterized as favoritism or interference, and a family relationship does not in itself indicate wrongdoing. But if a person connected to a former mayor's family took part as a private shareholder in a project funded with public money, the circumstances require explanation, observers say.
One point that needs to be checked is whether the timing of B's acquisition of the stake coincided with the shift of the largest shareholder to Wongeonchook after shipbuilder A's rehabilitation.
Amid those questions, the project's problems eventually surfaced. Two of the three yachts were delivered in 2023 and 2024. But one 65-foot yacht stopped at about 80% completion. Construction has been halted since April 2025. The cost of finishing the incomplete yacht is estimated at about 600 million won.
Shinan County budgeted about 294 million won as its share for 2025, but additional capital injections from private shareholders were delayed. No shareholders meeting was held, and the funding was neither secured nor spent. The public-private structure failed to function when the venture ran into trouble.
The county notified the company in August this year that it must return the subsidies. After the company filed objections and legal reviews were completed, the amount was adjusted in September to 2,777.6 million won. The deadline for repayment is the 16th of this month, just five days away, raising the prospect that billions of won in taxpayer money will be lost.
From Tourism Project to Question of Responsibility
The 1004 Islands yacht tourism project began as a symbol of marine tourism in Shinan. What remains is an unfinished yacht, a demand for the return of about 2.78 billion won, and unresolved questions.
The failure of a public project does not in itself mean favoritism or corruption. Nor does the mere fact that a person related to a former mayor's family held shares establish any violation of the law. But when a project funded by taxpayer money is on the verge of collapse and the name of a former mayor's family appears in the process, the duty to explain is hard to avoid.
Shinan County should disclose the contractor evaluation documents, the investment agreement, materials on the change of major shareholder, records of subsidy spending and the minutes of shareholders and board meetings, critics say.
Former mayor Park's side, Wongeonchook, shipbuilder A and the shareholders involved also need to set out their positions in detail for Shinan residents, given that public money was at stake.
An official at Shinan County said: "As the overall problems with the yacht construction project have come to light, we are pursuing follow-up measures in line with the relevant statutes and the results of our legal review. We will examine the course of the project and the records of subsidy spending and take the necessary steps."