Statement Opposing Site Selection by Naju Citizens' Committee for Hosting Synchrotron Accelerator

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong] A strong backlash is rising over the announcement of the preferred negotiation site by the Ministry of Science and ICT's Multipurpose Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator Site Selection Evaluation Committee.

As Jeonnam Province and Naju City (Mayor Kang In-gyu), following the 21st National Assembly members elected from the Honam region, along with civic groups, are spreading opposition opinions unabatedly, attention is focused on the government's response.

According to the city on the 12th, the Citizen Promotion Group for Hosting the Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator issued a "Statement Opposing the Site Decision for the Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator" in front of the city hall, strongly expressing their opposition to the site selection results.

In the statement, the promotion group said, "The site selection results for the synchrotron radiation accelerator clearly contradict the policy direction of the Moon Jae-in administration, which aims for a 'fair and just country' and 'national balanced development,'" and "We demand the government transparently disclose the detailed evaluation criteria and scoring."

They also reiterated the call for the implementation of the "Establishment of the Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator linked with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) University," a resolution of the Intergovernmental Support Committee under the National Balanced Development Committee from July last year, along with the construction of the next-generation synchrotron radiation accelerator in Naju considering national balanced development.

The promotion group condemned, "The evaluation committee chose an evaluation focused solely on metropolitan area accessibility and utilization of large corporation-centered related industries, as if a specific local government had been predetermined," and "They ignored demands to improve unfair indicators and ultimately favored Cheongju."

Earlier, the Ministry of Science and ICT's call for proposals for the synchrotron radiation accelerator construction project had been continuously controversial due to evaluation indicators favorable to a specific region from the beginning.

In particular, in the 'Site Conditions' category, which accounts for 50 points out of a total of 100 points, the indicators such as ▲facility accessibility ▲current resource utilization ▲residential conditions of the hinterland city (population, etc.) are pointed out as absolutely favorable to cities adjacent to the metropolitan area.

Therefore, the Honam region's political circles, local governments, and civic groups repeatedly requested adjustments to the evaluation indicators, but these demands were ultimately not accepted.

Regarding this, the promotion group stated, "It can only be seen as stemming from a metropolitan-centered mindset," and "We cannot accept the evaluation results based on such unfair indicators."

Since most companies, universities, and research institutions in the science and research fields are concentrated in the metropolitan and Chungcheong regions, if the same or similar criteria are applied in the future, national large-scale research facilities like the synchrotron radiation accelerator will inevitably be located in the metropolitan or Chungcheong regions.

They also raised issues regarding the justification for hosting the synchrotron radiation accelerator included in the basic plan for establishing KEPCO University.

According to the basic plan for establishing KEPCO University announced by the Intergovernmental Support Committee under the National Balanced Development Committee in July last year, the national policy includes constructing a national large landmark research facility, namely the 4th generation circular synchrotron radiation accelerator, linked with KEPCO University.

The promotion group emphasized, "Establishing KEPCO University without the research facility will inevitably lead to a half-baked research university," and "The decision not to build it in Naju ignores the promises the government has made so far and betrays the trust of 5.2 million Honam residents," raising the level of criticism.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT's Accelerator Site Selection Evaluation Committee selected and announced Cheongju (Ochang), Chungbuk, as the preferred negotiation site for the synchrotron radiation accelerator construction project, a large-scale national project worth 1 trillion won, on the 8th.

Earlier, the city had taken a step closer to the great achievement of hosting the first national large-scale research facility in the Honam region based on national balanced development by being included among the two candidate sites for on-site inspection through the presentation evaluation held in Daejeon on the 6th, but ultimately failed to cross the final hurdle, losing to Cheongju, Chungbuk.

Mayor Kang In-gyu stated, "We can never accept the evaluation committee's decision that Cheongju is superior to Naju in terms of geographical accessibility and related industry formation," and "We express strong regret over the unfair and biased procedures and processes."

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