153 Coastal Erosion Concern Sites and Severe Grades... Need to Establish a Cooperative System

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Coastal erosion, which destroys shorelines, has not been alleviated but is rather worsening.

Coastal erosion occurs due to natural factors such as rising sea levels and artificial factors such as development in coastal areas. The issue of coastal erosion is linked to the destruction of national land and the safety of local residents.

According to the "Status of Nationwide Coastal Erosion over the Past 5 Years" submitted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Democratic Party lawmaker Eo Gi-gu of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee on the 6th, the erosion severity rate, which is the proportion of erosion grades C (concern) and D (severe) among 250 monitored coastal areas, was 59.6% in 2015 and 61.2% last year, showing a 1.6 percentage point increase compared to the previous year.

By region, Ulsan Metropolitan City's erosion severity rate was the highest at 80.0%, but the region with the most severe D grade sites was Gangwon-do with 8 locations.

Lawmaker Eo stated, "While natural factors such as sea level rise contribute to coastal erosion, various development activities occurring along the coast also cause it, so efforts by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries alone are insufficient to resolve this issue. It is necessary to establish a cooperative system with other ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Forest Service, and local governments managing erosion areas," he said.

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