Naju-si and Korea District Heating Corporation Join Forces to Resolve Combined Heat and Power Plant Issues

Jeonnam Naju City (Mayor Yoon Byung-tae) and Korea District Heating Corporation (President Jung Yong-gi) have joined hands to resolve issues related to the combined heat and power plant.

On the 29th, Naju City and Korea District Heating Corporation announced that on the 28th, they signed a written agreement for mutual development to resolve issues of the combined heat and power plant in the Gwangju-Jeonnam Joint Innovation City, under the banner of communication with citizens and coexistence with the local community.

Naju City Hall, Korea District Heating Corporation
Photo by Naju City

The two organizations have prioritized citizen communication and participation and decided to disclose power plant operation information starting next month.

They will also accelerate the formation of an environmental monitoring committee involving residents and the discovery of social contribution projects related to resident welfare.

This agreement was based on the shared mutual recognition by both organizations that overcoming past conflicts and resolving power plant issues in a reasonable manner that citizens can trust is necessary.

Following the Supreme Court ruling on June 30 last year regarding the start of the power plant project and the withdrawal of Naju City's appeal against the solid fuel cancellation lawsuit on February 28 this year, administrative litigation has concluded, making the operation of the power plant inevitable. This agreement serves as the first step to reconcile long-standing conflicts.

The agreement includes mutual cooperation on efforts to resolve issues through communication with citizens, disclosure of power plant operation information to citizens, formation of a resident-participation environmental monitoring committee, discovery and implementation of projects related to resident health, local environment, welfare, and social contributions, improvement of Naju pre-treatment facilities to non-molding facilities, and normal operation of the combined heat and power plant.

Accordingly, starting next month, power plant operation information such as SRF input and stoppage times, monthly usage, TMS measurement results, and post-environmental impact survey results will be disclosed on the city hall website.

The environmental monitoring committee, which will serve as a communication channel with citizens, will be composed of resident representatives and members recommended by Naju City and Korea District Heating Corporation as soon as possible.

The background of this agreement includes the active will of President Jung Yong-gi of Korea District Heating Corporation, who took office in November last year.

Both Naju City and Korea District Heating Corporation have had deep conflicts through years of litigation, and Korea District Heating Corporation faced difficulties in the agreement process due to poor financial conditions, including being designated as a financially risky institution by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance due to huge accumulated deficits caused by high oil prices.

However, with the inauguration of the two heads last year, a consensus was formed that mutual trust and cooperation are necessary to resolve power plant issues and coexist with residents.

President Jung Yong-gi, a former elected local government head of Daedeok-gu, Daejeon (2006?2014), has experience participating in resolving regional conflicts from the citizens' perspective.

President Jung said, “Power plants located in the region must always communicate with local residents,” adding, “We signed this agreement with the principle of securing mutual trust through active information disclosure and transparent operation to protect residents’ environmental and health rights as well as the working environment of power plant employees.”

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “In the reality where power plant operation is inevitable, we will resolve power plant issues through this agreement to protect citizens’ pride, health, and a pleasant living environment.”

He added, “We will continue to propose to central government agencies the revision of laws related to cooperation funds for SRF import and consultations for Gwangju City’s self-treatment of waste in compliance with the waste generation site treatment principle.”

Naju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong baekok@asiae.co.kr

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