Jeonnam Province Accelerates Follow-up Measures Including Support for Retired Workers from Hwasun Closed Mines

Holding a Meeting for Cooperation with Related Organizations... Discussion on Role Sharing and More

Jeonnam Province held a cooperation meeting with related organizations to prepare follow-up measures such as restoration of the closed Hwasun mining area, discovery of alternative industries, and support for reemployment of retired workers, aiming to minimize the ripple effects on the local economy.

According to the province on the 12th, about 20 people attended the meeting held at the Korea Coal Corporation Hwasun Office (formerly Hwasun Mining Site) in Dong-myeon, Hwasun, including representatives from Jeonnam Province, Korea Coal Corporation, Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation, Hwasun County, and members of the Hwasun County Council.

Representing the residents of Dong-myeon, the chairman of the Mine Closure Countermeasure Council and the chairman of the Mine Development Committee also participated, showing that the local community harbors both regret over the closure of the Hwasun coal mine and new expectations for regional development.

At the meeting, Korea Coal Corporation presented ▲the current status of the early closure of the Hwasun Mining Site ▲support measures for retired workers after mine closure ▲future operation plans for the Hwasun Office including mine facilities, environment, and safety management.

The Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation introduced ▲the strategic project plan for Hwasun County ▲a survey on mining damage including water quality, ground, forest, soil, and abandoned facilities ▲progress on the comprehensive restoration plan as part of the economic promotion project plan for early closed mining areas.

Jeonnam Province explained ▲requests for institutional improvements such as strengthening environmental and safety management due to early mine closure ▲support for development projects and discovery of alternative industries in closed mining areas ▲support for reemployment of retired workers linked with the province and city/county comprehensive job centers.

Hwasun County presented ▲progress on discovering strategic projects for the closed mining area ▲feasibility study for revitalizing the tourism industry in the closed mining area ▲support measures for reemployment of retired workers.

Jeonnam Province and Hwasun County also requested the government to support the purchase cost of the Hwasun coal mine site owned by Korea Coal Corporation (31.9 billion KRW) and the Hwasun Coal Mine Memorial Park project cost (3 billion KRW) with national funds once the preliminary feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is completed.

They also requested government support for establishing a designated duty-free shop for domestic customers within the Honam region’s closed mining areas around the Hwasun coal mine site.

Son Myung-do, head of the Energy Policy Division of Jeonnam Province, said, “Communication and cooperation among institutions are most important for environmental and safety management, development projects, and discovery of alternative industries in the Hwasun closed mining area,” and urged, “Please prioritize the cooperation matters of each institution.”

Hwasun County utilizes about 6 billion KRW annually from the closed mining area development fund to promote infrastructure, resident income, and welfare projects. So far, 223.8 billion KRW in national funds and 130.5 billion KRW from the fund have been supported to carry out 28 projects, including establishing a global vaccine industrialization base. The closed mining area development fund has been created from 13% of the total sales of Kangwon Land casino operations from 2001 to 2045 and is distributed to seven cities and counties nationwide.

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