Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 118 Cases of Illegal Business Waste Disposal

Cases of Illegal Activities Related to Business Waste

Gyeonggi Province has uncovered numerous companies that illegally landfilled or stored waste sludge generated from water treatment plants or operated waste disposal businesses without permits.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 19th that it conducted year-round investigations into industrial waste and uncovered 118 cases, of which 95 were referred to the prosecution, and the remaining 23 will be referred once investigations are completed.

Among the major cases uncovered, Company A, a waste collection and transportation business, received 32 million KRW as a processing fee to handle 421 tons of wastewater treatment sludge from five textile companies at a cheaper rate than the market price. From June to August, they illegally landfilled 351 tons of the 421 tons on two leased sites and stored the remaining 70 tons in their own warehouse, which was not an appropriate waste storage location, leading to their detection.

Company B installed a waste recycling facility without permission and operated a business by bringing in 72 tons of automotive waste lights from May 2022 to April 2023, but was caught during an inspection. Of the 72 tons of automotive waste lights brought in by Company B, 32 tons were illegally transported by an unlicensed waste collection and transportation operator, who was also booked along with Company B.

Company C, a waste recycling business, contracted to recycle waste fibers entrusted from a waste collection center in another region for 345 million KRW annually. However, in March, it was revealed that 110 tons of entrusted waste fibers were subcontracted to Company D without being recycled at their own business site over 12 occasions.

Under the current Waste Management Act, illegal landfilling of industrial waste is punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 70 million KRW; operating a waste disposal business without a permit is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million KRW; and waste recycling companies that subcontract entrusted waste without processing it themselves face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

Hong Eun-gi, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit, urged, "To eradicate illegal waste activities, we plan to identify vulnerable areas in waste disposal and conduct continuous year-round investigations rather than one-time actions. We ask for active reporting and tips in the future."

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