Immediate Restoration Work Begins at Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium

Overview of Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium. Source=Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The government will immediately begin restoring the Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium.

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 11th, they accepted the decision of the "Council for the Rational Restoration of Gariwangsan" and prepared a corresponding implementation plan.

The council decided, in principle, to start the restoration of Gariwangsan and to operate the gondola temporarily during the restoration preparation period.

Previously, the restoration of the Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium was delayed due to conflicts of interest among stakeholders regarding the use of the alpine stadium gondola after the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

In response, the government operated a council composed of resident representatives, civic groups, experts, and local governments to devise a restoration plan and ultimately reached consensus on restoring the Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium.

Following the restoration decision, Gangwon Province and related ministries will carry out the procedures necessary for forest recovery, protection of forest genetic resource zones, and restoration of Grade 1 ecological natural areas, which were prerequisites when discussing the creation of the Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium.

First, Gangwon Province will operate an ecological restoration task force composed of experts and civic groups to establish a restoration plan for Gariwangsan and will begin consultations with the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Forest Service within this year to finalize the restoration plan, thereby starting restoration immediately.

Additionally, together with Jeongseon County, they plan to promptly complete the legal procedures and separate consultations required for the temporary operation of the gondola, including changes to the environmental impact assessment, national forest use permits, facility maintenance, safety inspections, and installation of convenience facilities.

In this process, the Ministry of Environment will manage and supervise the implementation of the environmental impact assessment agreements and the effects on the surrounding environment, while the Korea Forest Service plans to form the "(tentative name) Gariwangsan Forest Ecological Restoration Center," involving experts and civic groups to monitor the progress of the restoration.

However, the gondola will remain in place and operate during the preparatory period for restoration. The maximum operation period is set until December 31, 2024.

Furthermore, at the end of the operation period, the government will review and decide whether to maintain the gondola facilities, with the government fully responsible for the review criteria and methods.

The costs required for gondola operation will be borne by Jeongseon County, and convenience facilities related to gondola operation may be installed within the minimum range that does not hinder future restoration.

Meanwhile, the Gariwangsan Alpine Stadium to be restored was originally not allowed to be used as a stadium but was exceptionally permitted under the special law, the "Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Act." This was on the condition that instead of installing stadium facilities, Gangwon Province, as the user, would restore the area to its original state after the Olympics concluded.

In this process, the Korea Forest Service granted usage permission to Gangwon Province after administrative procedures such as lifting the forest genetic resource protection zone designation for 81 hectares of the alpine stadium facility installation area, mountain land conversion consultations, and national forest (71.2 hectares) use permits. The permit period was from May 2014 to December 31, 2018.

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