Gyeonggi-do Catches Main Culprits of 'Garbage Mountain'... 1 Arrested, 72 Sent to Prosecution

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has caught a large number of main culprits responsible for 'garbage mountains' caused by illegal waste dumping.

On the 30th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it conducted a focused investigation into a total of 69 illegal waste disposal cases in the first half of this year, resulting in the arrest of one person and the referral of 72 illegal waste handlers and 14 business sites, totaling 52 cases, to the prosecution. Investigations are ongoing for the remaining 17 cases.

By violation type, the cases include ▲16 cases of illegal waste dumping and landfill ▲13 cases of illegal incineration of waste wood and waste oil ▲7 cases of violations of waste disposal compliance ▲7 cases of non-compliance with illegal waste disposal orders ▲20 cases of unauthorized (unreported) waste disposal business ▲6 other cases (operation of unreported waste disposal facilities).

Since February last year, the province has been operating a dedicated waste investigation task force (TF) to eradicate abandonment and illegal dumping. In March this year, the province also established Investigation Team 12 (covering Pocheon City and Yeoncheon County) to strengthen environmental investigations in the northern region.

In a major case, A, B, and C, who were sentenced to prison for violating the Waste Management Act and released, along with acquaintances D and E, conducted prior reconnaissance to select remote locations as dumping sites, then divided roles such as installing barriers on outer walls and removing trees, jointly committing the crime before being caught.

Unauthorized waste disposal operators A and B collected waste from scrap dealers in northern Gyeonggi from February to May this year, charging processing fees ranging from 800,000 to 1,920,000 KRW per 5-ton vehicle, promising to handle waste at low prices. Additionally, C and D scouted abandoned pig farms and other sites to provide dumping locations, receiving 800,000 KRW per vehicle from A to assist in illegal dumping.

During this process, another unauthorized waste disposal operator E entrusted the waste he collected to A and B, paying processing fees. Using this method, the five individuals illegally dumped a total of 122 tons of mixed waste at abandoned pig farms over 14 occasions. The provincial special judicial police referred them to the prosecution for illegal dumping and unauthorized waste disposal business operations, and the main culprit A was arrested on charges of evidence tampering and flight risk.

Food waste collection and transportation operator F, along with partner G, was caught dumping 525 tons of food waste illegally at a leased poultry farm without transporting it to a legitimate disposal company. The waste was collected from famous restaurants in Seoul and dining establishments in Gyeonggi from September last year to early July this year.

Scrap dealers including H and four others rented private land, including riverbeds in northern Gyeonggi, from 2014 to 2018, using the land individually. Taking advantage of the landowners' negligent management, they left 2,811 tons of waste such as waste synthetic resin, waste oil tanks, and waste styrofoam abandoned even after the lease period ended, and were referred to the prosecution.

Illegal dumping of waste is punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 70 million KRW, and unauthorized waste disposal business is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW.

Inchi Kwon, head of the provincial special judicial police, stated, "Recently, due to the recession in the recycling industry, the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic causing an increase in delivery and packaging waste, and the ban on feeding food waste to livestock due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), waste disposal has not been smooth. Taking advantage of this, various waste abandonment and illegal dumping have been rampant." He emphasized, "We will continue strong investigations to eradicate such illegal activities."

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