Yongpoong Seokpo Smelter’s Contaminated Soil Cleanup Again Expected to Become a National Audit Issue

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Attention is turning to whether Yongpoong’s environmental pollution issues will once again become a point of contention in the remaining national audit schedule for this year. This comes amid reports that the status of compliance with Yongpoong’s soil remediation order, which has been ongoing for 10 years, remains stalled.

First, it is expected that Yongpoong’s environmental pollution issues will be raised again in the remaining national audit sessions.

According to documents titled “Measures Related to Violations of the Soil Environment Conservation Act at Seokpo Smelter,” submitted by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Office and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to Lee Heon-seung, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor, the soil remediation compliance rate (by area) for the planned industrial complex site outside Seokpo Smelter was 0 m³ out of a total 57,562 m³ as of August.

This means that not a single portion of the total 57,562 m³ remediation target area has actually been completed. According to the documents, by soil volume, only 5,506 cubic meters out of a total 53,592 cubic meters have been remediated, confirming a compliance rate of just 10.2%.

The planned industrial complex site is in its second extension of the soil remediation order deadline, set for May 31 next year. According to media reports, while contaminated soil at facilities inside Factory No. 3, the parking lot, and riverbed areas near Factory No. 3—covered by initial administrative orders issued between 2015 and 2021—has been fully remediated, the compliance rate for the planned industrial complex site, including stockpiling yards, remains at 0% by area and only 10.2% by soil volume.

As of August, the soil remediation order compliance rate for Factory No. 1 was 17.1% by area, with 8,081 m³ remediated out of a total 47,169 m³. Compared to a compliance rate of approximately 16% when the remediation order deadline expired at the end of June last year, it rose by only about one percentage point over roughly one year.

The soil volume-based compliance rate for Factory No. 1 is 53.5%, a slight increase from approximately 52% at the end of June last year. This means that after reaching 50% in December 2023, only about 3 to 4 percentage points have been remediated over three years.

The soil remediation order compliance rate for Factory No. 2 is 10.2% by area, with 3,634 m³ remediated out of a total 35,617 m³. Although this represents roughly a doubling from 4.3% at the end of June last year, it remains significantly below the target level. The soil volume-based compliance rate for Factory No. 2 is 31.3%, up from approximately 17.5% at the end of June last year.

The soil remediation order deadlines for Factories No. 1 and No. 2 have been extended until June 30 next year. Considering the current pace of compliance and the remaining scale of remediation, some analysts suggest that completion within the deadline may also be uncertain.

In particular, more contaminated soil than initially anticipated was additionally identified at the copper pyrite storage yard. According to Lee Heon-seung (Rep.)’s documents and other materials, while the initial quantity subject to the remediation order was 24,545 cubic meters, an additional 74,170 cubic meters of contaminated soil were identified during excavation and remediation processes. Consequently, the cumulative remediated volume reached 98,715 cubic meters, exceeding the original quantity by a staggering four times.

Meanwhile, according to political circles, at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment national audit held on the 6th, Kim Hyeong-dong (Rep.) (Gyeongsangbuk-do Andong City/Yescheon County) of the People Power Party stated, “I believe the Seokpo Smelter incident constitutes a serious crime,” and urged Kim Seong-hwan (Minister) to strengthen responses to environmental crimes.

Kim (Minister) also responded that they view cases related to Seokpo Smelter as important, stating, “We will monitor changes in the Special Investigation Corps and the existing Prosecution Service system. We will ensure that the Seokpo Smelter issue is handled strictly in accordance with the law.”

The soil remediation order for Seokpo Smelter was first issued 10 years ago, in 2015. At the time, Bonghwa County issued a two-year soil remediation order for the zinc ore and copper pyrite storage yards and waste storage facilities at Seokpo Smelter, but the company failed to comply.

In 2017, when Bonghwa County filed a complaint with the Prosecution Service, the smelter side requested a two-year extension of the remediation period, citing that “the scale of the soil remediation project is large and remediation methods are under research,” but Bonghwa County denied the request again. Subsequently, while the smelter filed administrative lawsuits seeking cancellation of the refusal to extend the soil remediation order deadline and other measures to buy time until the end of June last year, it once again extended the deadline alongside Bonghwa County’s criminal penalty measures.

Additionally, in September last year, environmental authorities issued a 10-day business suspension order for Seokpo Smelter, citing non-compliance with integrated environmental permit conditions related to contaminated soil remediation. Yongpoong appealed this decision by filing an administrative lawsuit, and no actual business interruption occurred due to the court’s decision to suspend enforcement. Subsequently, in October this year, the Seoul Administrative Court issued a first-instance ruling canceling the business suspension order, allowing the company to avoid the suspension for now.

On the 20th, the National Assembly’s Committee on Home Affairs and Safety will conduct a national audit targeting Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and on the 26th, the Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor is scheduled to continue its comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original