Goseong-gun Challenges 'Zero' Abandoned Waste from Bankrupt Companies

Goseong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, has disposed of all 11,700 tons of abandoned fishery waste on the site of a bankrupt company through administrative enforcement.
[Image source=Goseong-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Goseong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, secured national funds and carried out administrative enforcement to dispose of all abandoned fishery waste after concerns arose about environmental pollution caused by a large amount of fishery waste left unattended by a bankrupt company.

According to the county on the 14th, 'Gyeong Eun Suji,' a waste disposal company handling fishery waste, illegally brought in and abandoned 11,700 tons of fishery waste at the factory since around January 2019, which exceeds the annual household waste generation in Goseong.

The county took strong measures against the company, including five administrative dispositions, six prosecutions, and license cancellations, but ended up bearing the responsibility for disposing of the abandoned fishery waste due to the arrest of the company’s representative.

In particular, the area is located at the boundary between Sacheon City and Goseong-gun, adjacent to Sacheon River and National Road No. 33, raising serious concerns about damage from foul odors, leachate, and airborne dust.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, the county requested support from the Ministry of Environment for the cost of disposing of the abandoned waste and used the secured national funds of 2.6 billion KRW to immediately carry out administrative enforcement and dispose of all the abandoned waste.

In addition, the county is also handling 914 tons and 460 tons of waste abandoned due to the bankruptcy of two local companies by utilizing responsible auctions and performance guarantee insurance for disposal.

The county plans to continue to claim compensation rights to the waste generators, including business owners and landowners, and hold them legally responsible until the end.

County Governor Baek Doo-hyun said, "Taking this incident as a lesson, we will establish a thorough resident monitoring network to prevent the recurrence of second and third Gyeong Eun Suji incidents and work hard to prevent reoccurrence so that no abandoned waste remains."

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