Yun Byeong-tae, Mayor of Naju, Takes Active Steps with Citizens to Resolve SRF Cogeneration Plant Issues

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City in Jeollanam-do has taken the first step in communication with citizens to resolve the region's biggest issue, the ‘SRF (Solid Refuse Fuel) Combined Heat and Power Plant’, under the 8th local government administration.

The city announced that on the 21st at 10 a.m., it held an ‘Explanation Session for Resolving the Naju SRF Combined Heat and Power Plant Issue’ at the Culture and Arts Center, attended by about 200 people including Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, city and provincial council members, citizens, and journalists.

This explanation session was organized to seek future response measures by collecting citizens' opinions following the realization of the SRF power plant operation after the Supreme Court appeal ruling on the ‘Cancellation of Business Commencement Report Approval’ lawsuit filed by the Korea District Heating Corporation Gwangju-Jeonnam branch against Naju City on June 30.

Accordingly, through the explanation session, the city detailed the progress of major administrative actions related to the SRF power plant, future promotion directions, the lawsuit results with the heating corporation regarding the SRF power plant, introduction of SRF production and incineration processes and cases in other regions, and environmental impact assessment results.

The first presenter, Im Ju-ho, head of the Energy New Industry Division of Naju City, explained the ‘Current Status and Background of the SRF Power Plant’, ‘Major Administrative Processes’, ‘Lawsuit Progress’, ‘Resolution Plans through Consultations with Related Agencies’, and ‘Future Promotion Directions’.

Director Im stated, “We are establishing a three-stage promotion plan including opinion collection through communication with citizens, consultations with related agencies, and roadmap establishment for issue resolution. Starting with this explanation session, we plan to finalize a concrete roadmap through the last stage, the citizen report meeting, after going through each stage.”

After holding the explanation session, the city plans to proceed with consultations by forming two consultative bodies involving ‘Jeonnam Province-Naju City-Gwangju City’ and ‘Jeonnam Province-Naju City-Heating Corporation’ following the first stage of collecting opinions from experts in various fields and all walks of life.

The consultative body with Gwangju City will discuss the construction of an incineration plant for Gwangju’s own waste treatment and the payment of cooperation fees for Gwangju SRF imports.

With the heating corporation, plans include discussions on forming a resident environmental monitoring group, conducting post-environmental impact investigations and resident health impact surveys, SRF usage period, and measures to provide resident convenience and welfare.

Attorney Oh Jeong-min from the law firm Taepyungyang, representing Naju City in the lawsuit, presented the lawsuit results and legal implications regarding the heating corporation, including the ‘Business Commencement Approval Refusal Lawsuit’, ‘Cancellation of Solid Fuel Usage Permit Lawsuit’, and ‘Progress of Damage Compensation Lawsuit’.

Following this, Professor Oh Se-cheon of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Kongju National University, who participated in the 2020 environmental impact investigation of the Naju SRF power plant, gave a presentation on SRF production and incineration processes in other regions.

Professor Oh spoke about the operation status of major combined heat and power plants and incinerators nationwide, citing Seoul’s incinerators as examples, and discussed the status of Gwangju and Jeonnam SRF production facilities, SRF quality inspection results, and environmental impact investigation results of the SRF power plant.

During this process, some residents opposing the plant operation rushed to the stage, blocking Professor Oh’s remarks with loud voices, physical confrontations, and picket protests, causing a commotion.

The explanation session was suspended for about 10 minutes, and Mayor Yoon Byung-tae went up on stage to calm the enraged residents.

After the main presentations, a written and on-site Q&A session was held between the explanation session attendees, Naju City officials, and attorneys.

In particular, questions and answers were exchanged regarding SRF incineration ash disposal methods, the 2021 treatment results of Gwangju SRF at the Jangseong stockyard where moisture and lead components were detected, future legal lawsuit directions, and SRF management plans.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “Due to consecutive legal lawsuit defeats, the administrative measures our city can take are very limited, and with the inevitable operation of the power plant, it is now time to unite our efforts to establish a realistic solution prioritizing citizens’ health rights. Starting with this explanation session, we plan to broadly collect diverse opinions from citizens of all walks of life to resolve the power plant issue.”

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong baekok@asiae.co.kr

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