Board of Audit and Inspection public interest audit request looms over Ministry of Environment and Gyeongsangbuk-do… Suspected inadequate oversight of 'Yeongpoong Sokpo Smelter'

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Critics have pointed out that the government's and local authorities' management and supervision of Yeongpoong Sokpo Smelter, which has repeatedly faced sanctions for environmental pollution issues, was inadequate. As a civic group announced this week that it would file a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection, the controversy is showing signs of expanding beyond legal disputes to encompass government agencies as a whole.

The Joint Action Committee on Environmental Pollution Around Yeongpoong Smelter and Resident Damages (hereinafter the Joint Action Committee) announced on the 20th that it would file a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding the management and supervision status of Sokpo Smelter by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (hereinafter the Ministry of Environment) and Gyeongsangbuk-do.

One of the core suspicions concerns the handling status of 'smelting residues,' waste generated during the smelting process. When the Ministry of Environment granted an integrated environmental permit to Sokpo Smelter in 2022, it imposed an obligation to transport and dispose of all smelting residues externally by the end of 2023. Subsequently, the Ministry of Environment also reported to the National Assembly that 142 billion won would be required as disposal costs for this matter in 2024.

However, controversy erupted when the Ministry of Environment responded that "relevant materials do not exist" after nearby residents requested disclosure of information regarding the composition analysis reports, disposal methods, and stockpiled quantities of smelting residues. The Joint Action Committee side stated, "It is contradictory for the Ministry of Environment, which imposed waste disposal obligations and even completed a budget report to the National Assembly, to claim that relevant materials do not exist," and strongly demanded a thorough investigation, stating, "Since the disposal deadline ended at the end of last year, it must clearly explain how the actual transport was verified through what procedures and materials."

Sokpo Smelter has been subject to continuous sanctions, including being fined 28.1 billion won by the Ministry of Environment in 2021 over suspicions of illegally discharging cadmium-contaminated groundwater externally. Additionally, it received a fine of 20.4 billion won for accounting violations on a scale of approximately 850 billion won, such as failing to properly reflect environmental pollution remediation costs as liabilities.

The Joint Action Committee argues that an audit is necessary to determine whether the Ministry of Environment appropriately carried out supervision of compliance with cleanup orders after these detections. In particular, it takes the position that the circumstances behind why no follow-up measures have been taken even 15 months later must be intensively investigated, despite the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission expressing an opinion in July last year urging the Ministry of Environment to conduct a detailed soil investigation through specialized institutional investors.

Gyeongsangbuk-do, as a local government, also received criticism. Gyeongsangbuk-do signed a contract for a 'Feasibility Study on Relocation of Sokpo Smelter and Formulation of Comprehensive Countermeasures' in July 2025. However, it was confirmed that just five months later, the project name was changed to 'Feasibility Review Study on Sustainable Coexistence Strategy and Response Measures for Sokpo Smelter.'

With the change in name, the contract amount increased from approximately 89.936 million won to 100 million won, and the duration was extended from 12 months to 14 months. Residents argue that Gyeongsangbuk-do shifted its policy direction from reviewing the 'relocation' of the smelter to a review premised on its 'retention,' and are pressuring the province to disclose the clear basis and decision-making process behind such changes.

Meanwhile, on the 13th, the Central Administrative Review Committee decided that the Ministry of Environment should disclose the contaminated soil remediation implementation plan and groundwater contamination materials, but dismissed the request regarding smelting residues on the grounds of non-existence of materials. The Joint Action Committee urged, "The government and local authorities must stop the cover-up situation and transparently reveal the status of pollution remediation and the circumstances of management and supervision."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original