Park Sugi, Gwangju City Council Member: "City Neglected Carcinogen-Contaminated Groundwater for Two Years" (Comprehensive)

Irresponsible and Complacent Administration Threatens Public Health
Passive Response Despite Confirmed Contamination
City: "We Will Pursue Concrete Action Plans with Local Districts"

Park Sugi, a member of the Gwangju City Council, is asking a municipal administration question at the plenary session of the 334th extraordinary meeting on the 15th. Photo by Gwangju City Council

It has been revealed that due to Gwangju City's complacent and irresponsible administration, groundwater contaminated with Class 1 carcinogens has been left untreated for more than two years, putting the lives and health of citizens at serious risk.

On the 15th, Park Sugi, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangsan District 5), pointed out the severe pollution of groundwater at the Hanam Industrial Complex during a municipal administration question at the plenary session of the 334th extraordinary meeting, and called for immediate safety measures.

She criticized the inaction of both Gwangju City and Gwangsan District, stating, "Trichloroethylene (TCE), which causes kidney cancer and central nervous system damage, and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were detected at levels up to 466 times and 284 times the standard, respectively."

In particular, the pollutants are spreading from the Hanam Industrial Complex toward the Suwan District and Pungyeongjeongcheon, and carcinogens exceeding the standard were also detected in household-use wells in residential areas. Park described this as "a disaster-level situation directly linked to the lives of citizens."

Gwangju City had already recognized the possibility of contamination when it established its 'Groundwater Management Plan' in 2019, and harmful substances continued to be detected during a detailed investigation of groundwater and soil pollution at the Hanam Industrial Complex, which was conducted from 2020 to 2023 with a budget of 1 billion KRW. However, despite these findings, the city took no action, and citizens have been exposed to carcinogens for over two years.

Addressing Mayor Kang Gijung, Park emphasized, "The first responsibility and duty of local government is to protect the safety and health of its citizens," and directly criticized, "The mayor's failure to apologize or take any action regarding the neglect of groundwater contaminated with Class 1 carcinogens is close to dereliction of duty."

Park further urged, "The city must immediately suspend the use of wells in the Suwan District and take action to block the spread of contamination and begin remediation. No administrative priority should come before the lives and safety of citizens. Activate an emergency response system right now, secure a remediation budget of 15 billion KRW, and start efforts to prevent further contamination."

In response, a Gwangju City official stated, "Because groundwater is a resource closely linked to daily life, the law grants local districts the authority to manage it accordingly. However, since groundwater contamination is a matter of urgent concern for citizens' health and safety, Gwangju City will also do its utmost to ensure public safety by working with local districts to develop and implement both short-term and long-term concrete action plans."

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