Jeonnam Province Criticized for Passive Response to Gwangju Incineration Plant Project

Assemblyman Jeonghwan Mo: "Jeonnam Province Unaware of Incineration Plant Construction"
Concerns Raised Over Infringement of Hampyeong Residents' Environmental and Health Rights... Unavoidable Opposition Expected

On the 22nd, Provincial Assemblyman Jeonghwan Mo urged Jeonnam Province to actively respond to Gwangju Metropolitan City's unilateral push for the construction of an incineration plant at the 392nd extraordinary session. Provided by Jeonnam Provincial Assembly

There have been criticisms that Jeonnam Province is responding passively, even though there is a growing possibility that a large-scale 650-ton incineration plant, being promoted by Gwangju Metropolitan City, will be built near Hampyeong in Jeonnam.

Jeonghwan Mo, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Hampyeong), during the 392nd extraordinary session on the 22nd, criticized Jeonnam Province’s lukewarm response to the issue of Gwangju Metropolitan City’s unilateral push for the construction of a resource recovery facility (incineration plant). He then urged the province to come up with more realistic measures.

Gwangju Metropolitan City is pushing to build a large incineration plant with a daily capacity of 650 tons in Samgeo-dong, Gwangsan-gu, by the end of 2029, in preparation for the nationwide ban on direct landfilling of municipal waste in 2030.

However, since the planned site is adjacent to Hampyeong County, local residents are concerned about potential violations of their environmental and health rights. Currently, the ‘Hampyeong County Pan-County Countermeasures Committee’ has been formed and is strongly opposing the construction of the incineration plant.

Assemblyman Mo pointed out, “Although the construction of the incineration plant by Gwangju City is a serious matter that could have a significant impact on nearby residents, Jeonnam Province was completely unaware of the situation until Hampyeong County informed them.”

He went on to express concern, saying, “Hampyeong County is currently pursuing future growth engine projects for the southwestern region of Jeonnam, such as the Bitgreen National Industrial Complex, the RE100 National Industrial Complex, and the Future Convergence Advanced New Town. The incineration plant could have a seriously negative impact on these regional development strategies.”

Assemblyman Mo also questioned the safety of the incineration plant, stating, “Gwangju City claims that there will be no harm because the chimney will be 120 meters high, yet they are promising a huge compensation package of 110 billion won to the surrounding area (60 billion won for benefit facilities and 50 billion won in special support funds).”

In particular, he pointed out that the process of selecting candidate sites lacked sufficient collection of residents’ opinions, and that there have been allegations of false resident consent and fraudulent address transfers. He argued, “If procedural legitimacy and resident acceptance are not fully secured, conflicts within the local community will only intensify.”

In his closing remarks, Assemblyman Mo reiterated his call, saying, “As a metropolitan local government with 22 cities and counties, Jeonnam Province must take on its heavy responsibility and promptly come up with special measures and win-win solutions to address the concerns of Hampyeong residents.”

Meanwhile, on the 10th, Assemblyman Mo also called for an active response from Jeonnam Province regarding this issue during a five-minute free speech session.

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