If You Report Illegal Dumping at 5 Sites Including Hwaseong Hyangnam's 'Sseuregisang', You Can Receive 100 Million Won

Garbage Mountain in Hyangnam-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has decided to provide a reward of up to 100 million KRW to informants who report illegal waste dumping. Additionally, the province plans to pursue and punish illegal waste dumpers to the end.

On the 31st, Gyeonggi Province announced that it has established the "Wanted List for Illegal Waste Dumpers and Reward Plan for Public Informants" containing these details.

This follows the directive from Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province last month to "promote the issuance of wanted notices for illegal waste dumpers and provide rewards to public informants."

According to this plan, the province allocated up to 100 million KRW in public informant rewards for five areas within the province where illegal actors have not been identified for several years, causing difficulties in restoring the sites to their original condition.

The wanted areas are among the province’s illegal waste mountains where the perpetrators have not been identified since their initial discovery: ▲Hyangnam-eup, Hwaseong City (discovered in May 2017, 380 tons of waste synthetic resin dumped, waste disposal completed), ▲Cheongsan-myeon, Yeoncheon County (discovered in May 2018, 200 tons of mixed waste dumped, waste disposal completed), ▲Yeoncheon-eup, Yeoncheon County (discovered in May 2018, 300 tons of mixed waste, waste disposal in progress), ▲Hwacheon-myeon, Pocheon City (discovered in August 2018, 738 tons of waste synthetic fiber, waste disposal in progress), and ▲Ildong-myeon, Pocheon City (discovered in November 2018, 78 tons of waste synthetic fiber, waste disposal in progress). These areas were first discovered 1 to 3 years ago.

Reports regarding these areas can be submitted in person or by mail to the Resource Circulation Division of the province or the environmental departments of the respective cities and counties. Reports can also be made through the Gyeonggi Province public informant hotline "Gongjeong Gyeonggi 2580."

The identity of informants is strictly protected, and informants may disclose their personal information to a lawyer who can represent them in reporting. When reporting, evidence such as illegal activity reports, seized materials, and site photographs proving the dumping must be submitted.

Subsequently, informants may receive rewards of up to 100 million KRW (for sentences of 7 years or more) after review by the "Gyeonggi Province Public Informant Support Committee" and based on court rulings.

To promote reporting, the province will implement measures such as posting banners, producing and distributing flyers, running video advertisements on G-buses, and promoting through city and county community newsletters, focusing on dumping areas.

Additionally, a dedicated task force (TF) within the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police will operate until the end of the year.

The TF will be responsible for investigating railway sites to prevent new occurrences, investigating abandoned and dumped waste based on complaints and reports, and investigating existing waste mountains to determine responsibility for disposal.

Um Jin-seop, Director of the Provincial Environment Bureau, stated, "Illegal waste dumping undermines the quality of life for residents, causes secondary environmental pollution, generates criminal profits, and leads to significant social problems. We will pursue perpetrators to the end to ensure they face legal judgment, and concentrate all administrative efforts on strengthening enforcement systems and activating public reporting to eradicate illegal dumping."

Meanwhile, last year, illegal waste dumping in the province occurred at 92 sites with approximately 750,000 tons, of which about 600,000 tons have been processed. However, 140,000 tons remain unprocessed.