Muan-gun Initiates Public Petition for Establishment of Nuclear Safety Grant Tax

Over 50,000 Signatures Targeted for National Petition... 7.4 Billion KRW Support Received by Cities and Counties

Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kim San) is conducting a national petition for public consent on the establishment of a Nuclear Safety Grant Tax until the 26th as a member local government of the National Nuclear Power Plant Alliance.

According to the county on the 14th, the National Nuclear Power Plant Alliance (Chairman, Ulsan Jung-gu Mayor) is a gathering of 23 basic local governments near nuclear power plants and research reactors. On the 30th of last month, the heads of the organizations held a temporary meeting to discuss key agenda items urging the establishment of the Nuclear Safety Grant Tax.

Exterior view of Muan-gun Office
[Photo by Muan-gun]

The 5.03 million residents of the 23 basic local governments corresponding to nearby cities, counties, and districts excluding the nuclear power plant sites are seriously infringing on their right to life and environmental rights due to radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, and nuclear power plant-related incidents and accidents.

In particular, since the Fukushima nuclear accident, the radiation emergency planning zone has been expanded to within 30 km of nuclear power plants, increasing the obligations for radiation disaster prevention and resident protection responsibilities, but there is no budget support.

The purpose of this petition is to amend the Local Allocation Tax Act by increasing the total domestic tax portion of the local allocation tax resources by 0.06% to secure funds and provide equal support annually to the 23 local governments to be used for budget support for resident protection projects.

If the Nuclear Safety Grant Tax is established, based on 170 billion KRW, which is 0.06% of this year's domestic tax, about 7.4 billion KRW of grant tax support is expected per city, county, and district.

If a national petition agenda receives the consent of 50,000 citizens, it will be referred to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee for review.

To participate in the petition consent, access the National Assembly National Consent Petition website or the QR code on promotional materials, select the ‘Petition on the Establishment of the Nuclear Safety Grant Tax,’ verify your identity, and then agree.

The Nuclear Power Plant Alliance plans to collect public opinions on the establishment of the Nuclear Safety Grant Tax at a National Assembly policy forum on the 2nd of next month and also promote a signature campaign of one million residents centered on the 23 local governments near nuclear power plants.

Governor Kim San said, “The Nuclear Safety Grant Tax is an essential and rightful support for residents and will be used for resident protection projects, regional balanced development, and welfare projects for our residents,” adding, “I hope many residents will take an interest and actively participate in the petition consent for nuclear power plant-related system improvements.”

Muan = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Oh Hwan-ju ohj1358@asiae.co.kr

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