Environment, citizen, and religious groups demand, "Yongphung Seokpo Smelter must leave the Nakdong River"..."We must report to the Financial Services Commission, Ministry of Environment, and Prosecution Service"

*This content was translated by AI.

"Yongphung Seokpo Smelter must leave the Nakdong River"

Citizen groups in the Nakdong River basin strongly criticized violations of accounting standards regarding Yongphung Seokpo Smelter's environmental pollution cleanup responsibilities and raised their voices.

The 'Yongphung Smelter Environmental Pollution and Residents' Health Joint Countermeasures Committee (Joint Committee)', comprising over 60 environmental, citizen, and religious groups from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, issued a statement on the 11th, asserting, "Yongphung Seokpo Smelter, which has threatened residents' health rights with heavy metals from the uppermost reaches of the Nakdong River for over half a century, has had its environmental crimes officially confirmed in the name of a national institutional investor."

Previously, the Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission determined on the 10th that Yongphung had significantly understated soil and groundwater pollution cleanup liabilities in the amount of several trillion won over the four fiscal years from 2021 to 2024. Accordingly, the Securities and Futures Commission decided on measures including a three-year appointment of an external auditor, a recommendation to dismiss Jeon (CEO) director and other executives, dismissal of responsible executives, and a six-month suspension of duties.

The Joint Committee determined that the Securities and Futures Commission found that despite the existence of cleanup obligations for various items such as soil cleanup liabilities around the smelter, soil cleanup liabilities for surrounding forests, soil cleanup liabilities below the smelter, and groundwater cleanup liabilities, Yongphung failed to properly reflect the costs or calculated lower costs based on cleanup methods not legally permitted.

In particular, the Joint Committee noted that 1.114 trillion won was omitted for groundwater cleanup liabilities in both 2023 and 2024, and that 77.9 billion to 90.5 billion won was omitted annually for soil cleanup liabilities below the smelter from 2021 to 2024.

A representative of the Joint Committee stated, "If costs were erased in the same manner for several years despite receiving cleanup orders and knowing legal obligations, it cannot be considered a simple mistake," and argued, "This is a planned concealment to avoid environmental restoration responsibilities in the trillions of won." This points to the cleanup responsibility directly linked to environmental pollution in the uppermost reaches of the Nakdong River.

Furthermore, the Joint Committee pointed out that the Securities and Futures Commission's penalty did not include a report to the Prosecution Service. They argued that erasing environmental costs of several trillion won from financial statements over several years should not be concluded with an administrative penalty, and that authorities such as the Financial Services Commission must immediately report Yongphung to the Prosecution Service.

The Joint Committee also argued that although the Ministry of Environment granted integrated environmental permits to Yongphung Seokpo Smelter in 2022 by imposing 103 compliance conditions, violations of environmental laws and regulations continued even after the permit was issued. They pointed out that the integrated environmental permit functioned as a pardon for Yongphung's operations and raised their voices demanding the permit be revoked, the Seokpo Smelter be closed immediately, and Yongphung bear the costs itself to restore the entire Nakdong River, surrounding soil, groundwater, and forests.

They also raised the need for an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. Since the process of omitting cleanup costs in the trillions of won from financial statements over several years occurred under administrative supervision, they pointed out that the management and supervision responsibilities of the Ministry of Environment, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Bonghwa County, as well as the overall administrative processing, must also be examined.

A representative of the Joint Committee said, "We have seen the current reality where even after confirming that environmental costs of several trillion won were erased, there is not even a report to the Prosecution Service, so now we must step in directly," and added, "If the Prosecution Service does not investigate, we will force it; if the Board of Audit and Inspection does not move, we will make it move; and if the smelter does not close, we will make it close."

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*This content was translated by AI.