Radiation Light Accelerator Honam Hosting Committee Issues 'Opposition Statement' on Site Selection

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Radiation Light Accelerator Honam Region Attraction Committee has issued a 'statement of opposition' regarding the Ministry of Science and ICT's decision on the site for the multipurpose radiation light accelerator.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 10th, the Radiation Light Accelerator Honam Attraction Committee disclosed detailed evaluation criteria and scoring and urged the government and ruling party to fulfill their promise to establish the facility in Naju.

The statement announcement held at the Ramada Hotel in Ikwangju was attended by about 30 people, including Kim Dojong, co-chairman of the Radiation Light Accelerator Honam Region Attraction Committee, Park Kiyoung, Lee Gihak, Choi Yongguk, Lee Minwon, executive committee chairmen, and other members.

In the statement, they compared the site conditions of Naju and Ochang in Chungbuk, pointed out problems, and expressed that they could not accept the elimination of Naju, which has superior site conditions.

In particular, they demanded ▲ immediate disclosure of detailed evaluation criteria and scoring ▲ fulfillment of the promise by Lee Haechan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to establish the radiation light accelerator in Naju ▲ implementation of the intergovernmental support committee's resolution and reporting to the State Council regarding the construction plan linked with Korea Electric Power Corporation University (KEPCO University) ▲ re-examination of the public contest process to correct problems and establishment in Naju considering national balanced development.

The Honam Attraction Committee stated, “Naju, which is wide and flat, has excellent expandability and can be developed in the shortest time and at minimal cost. It is composed of solid granite, providing excellent safety,” adding, “It is also the optimal site for construction to prepare for national disasters and risks and for national balanced development through distributed placement.”

They continued, “Ochang in Chungbuk is a mountainous terrain with large elevation differences, requiring significant time and budget for site leveling,” and pointed out, “The unavoidable cutting and filling during development increase the risk of uneven subsidence, causing safety issues for the facility and instability in the radiation light beam trajectory.”

They also emphasized, “A heavy ion accelerator is scheduled to be completed next year in nearby Daejeon,” and “The Chungcheong region has become a semi-capital area through concentrated national support such as Sejong City, Government Daejeon Complex, Daedeok Research Complex, and Osong Advanced Medical Complex, and has already established a self-sustaining development base.”

Furthermore, they criticized, “Despite these circumstances, this public contest was evaluated based solely on economic logic favoring vested interests such as proximity to the metropolitan area,” and said, “If accessibility is evaluated by distance to the metropolitan area, the southern coastal region will inevitably be excluded from government facility placement.”

They added, “In July last year, the intergovernmental support committee under the National Balanced Development Committee approved the basic plan for establishing KEPCO University, including the radiation light accelerator construction plan, reported it to the State Council in August, and in April, Lee Haechan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, promised construction in Naju,” and stated, “The government must maintain policy consistency and build it in Naju to uphold trust with the Honam people.”

The Attraction Committee plans to actively explain the unfairness of the current radiation light accelerator site selection process to the government and political circles and will continue efforts to urge the Ministry of Science and ICT to withdraw the site decision and ensure the construction of the radiation light accelerator in Naju.

Meanwhile, the Radiation Light Accelerator Honam Region Attraction Committee was launched on the 9th of last month, consisting of about 200 members including Honam regional governors, incumbent members of the National Assembly, 21st general election candidates, media representatives, heads of hometown associations, university presidents, chamber of commerce presidents, and heads of national research institutes related to science and technology.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.