Chungnam Explores Utilization of 'Janghang Contaminated Land'... Establishing an Ecological Restoration Model

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province has begun seeking ways to utilize the Janghang contaminated remediation land.

On the 7th, the province announced that it held a kickoff briefing for the "Janghang Contaminated Remediation Land Utilization Plan Study" in Seocheon.

The study is being promoted to find ways to utilize the contaminated land in line with the completion of the remediation project around the former Janghang Smelter.

The former Janghang Smelter, which first began operations in 1936 during the Japanese colonial period, played a central role in non-ferrous metal smelting. However, after 60 years, the land near the factory has become contaminated due to heavy metal leakage, causing harm to residents' health and resulting in damages.

In response, the province, along with the Ministry of Environment and Seocheon County, has been purchasing and cleaning up the contaminated land for eight years since 2013, and the related project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

In continuation, the study focuses on finding future utilization plans for the purchased land.

The main contents include ▲diagnosis of the conditions of the contaminated remediation land ▲identification of current issues, problems, potential, and future value ▲analysis of domestic and international cases ▲setting visions and goals for the utilization of the contaminated remediation land ▲strategies and project discovery for creating environmentally friendly and sustainable future value ▲basic land use plans ▲step-by-step development plans and economic feasibility analysis ▲and establishment of implementation plans.

Through the study, the province aims to design a plan to develop the contaminated remediation land into an international ecological environment hub, drawing a blueprint to reflect government policies and promote projects.

Lee Woo-sung, Deputy Governor for Culture and Sports, said, "The former Janghang Smelter is a place where traces of exploitation during the Japanese colonial period and modern industrialization remain intact," adding, "However, recently, the side effects of industrialization have increased damage to residents and the environment near the factory."

He continued, "The province will now strive to transform the former Janghang Smelter from contamination into a cleaned land that can become an internationally representative ecological restoration model for Korea."

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