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Saying that the construction coordination commission failed to solve all the problems in conformity with the Party's policy line, he said in the strong terms that if such situation is left to go on, the noble plan and intention of the Party which initiated the glorious and worthwhile construction for the good of the people could be distorted and the image of the Party be tarnished.
He instructed the relevant departments of the Party Central Committee to investigate the performance of the construction coordination commission as a whole and replace all the officials responsible and make strict referral of them.
More detail from Richard Lloyd Parry at the Times:
Kim Jong-un has publicly sacked the managers of a construction project for soliciting donations.
In a rare admission of malpractice among public officials, North Korean state media reported today that there were “serious problems” in the building of Pyongyang General Hospital….
The Pyongyang hospital eclipsed the building of a delayed tourist beach resort near the northeast city of Wonsan as the country’s top-priority construction project.
According to KCNA, Mr Kim ordered the party’s central committee to replace the errant officials on the hospital project. As far as their punishment goes, Mr Kim ordered that investigators “make strict referral of them”.
Sounds ominous.
The construction of the hospital is a prestige project, timed to be complete for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea in October. The rush has meant shortcuts in the construction, with tales of workers falling to their deaths due to exhaustion and lack of proper safety equipment.
The Supreme Leader's sister Kim Yo Jong, meanwhile, ordered the creation of a series of literary works focused on the Pyongyang General Hospital project a few weeks back. I wonder if this latest unfortunate setback will manage to find its way into one of these heroic socialist masterpieces…
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