Hanam-si Expresses 'Deep Regret' Over Gyeonggi-do Administrative Appeals Commission's Decision on Dongseoul Substation Expansion

Hanam-si "Seeking Measures to Prioritize Resident Safety"

The Gyeonggi Provincial Administrative Appeals Commission on the 16th upheld the cancellation request for the denial of building and activity permits related to the Dongseoul Substation expansion project filed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) against Hanam City.

A view of Hanam City Hall. Provided by Hanam City.

On the same day, Mayor Lee Hyun-jae personally appeared at the Gyeonggi administrative appeal hearing to explain the validity of the relevant disposition and expressed deep regret over the decision by the Gyeonggi Provincial Administrative Appeals Commission to accept the appeal. The commission ruled in favor of the appeal regarding the project that KEPCO selected and pursued the site without sufficient resident consultation, citing it as a national plan.

Hanam City plans to thoroughly analyze the causes of the loss and the reasons for the decision in detail once the final ruling document is delivered, aiming to find measures that prioritize the safety of residents above all.

Previously, KEPCO planned the ‘Dongseoul Substation Indoor Conversion and Expansion Project,’ which involved converting the existing 345kV alternating current outdoor facilities at the Dongseoul Substation adjacent to Gam-il New Town into indoor facilities and constructing a 500kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station.

Hanam City judged that despite the power facility capacity increasing 3.5 times from the existing 2GW (gigawatts) to 7GW with the construction of the HVDC converter station, KEPCO finalized the expansion site without a resident opinion collection process, showing a lack of resident acceptance. Accordingly, on August 21 of this year, Hanam City denied the four permit applications submitted by KEPCO related to the Dongseoul Substation indoor conversion and expansion project, considering them important matters directly connected to residents’ lives.

Subsequently, KEPCO filed an administrative appeal against the denial of the Dongseoul Substation expansion permit, and Hanam City submitted rebuttal materials in the form of supplementary documents totaling 600 pages and 230 pages on October 28 and December 9, respectively, addressing the contents of KEPCO’s appeal during the administrative appeal process.

Mayor Lee Hyun-jae personally attended the oral hearing on the day to explain the validity of the denial of the Dongseoul Substation indoor conversion and expansion project and actively responded by requesting cooperation from related departments so that the law firm Kim & Chang, appointed as the administrative appeal representative, could fully dedicate efforts to the administrative appeal process.

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