One-Point Session of the 301st Extraordinary Meeting Held on the Afternoon of the 30th
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The Seocho District Council (Chairperson Kim Ansook) held the 301st one-point extraordinary session on the 30th and presented and processed a resolution urging the withdrawal of the plan to relocate the Gwacheon Sewage Treatment Plant within the Seocho District living area.
Jointly proposed by Councilmembers An Jongsook and Go Kwangmin and unanimously passed by all members, the resolution clearly states that the installation of the sewage treatment plant by Gwacheon City is a district plan that is clearly illegal.
According to the resolution, the location where Gwacheon City intends to install the sewage treatment plant is a densely populated residential area within Seocho District and only about 80 meters away from an educational environment protection zone where elementary schools and kindergartens are located, thus falling under prohibited facilities according to Article 9 of the Act on the Protection of Educational Environment.
Accordingly, the Seocho District Council strongly condemned the “Gwacheon Public Housing District Plan Approval Application” which seeks to relocate the existing Gwacheon sewage treatment plant to a location adjacent to Seocho District, and urged the withdrawal of the sewage treatment plant relocation plan.
The adopted resolution will be delivered to key related organizations including the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the Mayor of Seoul, the Secretariat of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and the Secretariat of the National Council of Provinces, demanding the withdrawal of the Gwacheon sewage treatment plant relocation plan.
Prior to the presentation of the resolution, Vice Chairperson Choi Jongbae made a five-minute free speech, strongly urging Gwacheon City to withdraw the district plan approval application and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to reject the application, stating that Gwacheon City’s plan to install the sewage treatment plant within the Seocho District living area infringes on the right to live in a pleasant environment as stipulated in Article 35, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution.
After concluding the 301st extraordinary session, all Seocho District council members visited the planned site for the Gwacheon sewage treatment plant, received a briefing on the current status and response measures from the executive branch, and urged the withdrawal of the sewage treatment plant installation.
Meanwhile, Councilmember Choi Wonjun stated in a five-minute free speech that the Seocho District youth basic income policy experiment will be a sufficient stepping stone for youth to become the center of society, and that the council will listen to various opinions and strive to ensure the success of the policy experiment.
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Resolution Urging Withdrawal of Gwacheon Sewage Treatment Plant Relocation Plan
Regarding the recently raised issue of the sewage treatment plant location selection, our Seocho District Council members, together with the residents, strongly condemn the “Gwacheon Public Housing District Plan Approval Application” to relocate the existing Gwacheon sewage treatment plant near Seonbawi Station to a location adjacent to Seocho District.
As early as March 2017, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that the most economical and equitable rational plan was to integrate and underground the Gwacheon sewage treatment plant and expand the existing plant. In September 2019, the Ministry of Environment also submitted an opinion to prioritize expansion on the existing facility site.
Nevertheless, Gwacheon City once again submitted the related district plan approval application to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on October 14, 2020, through the Korea Housing Corporation.
Meanwhile, Gwacheon City has not disclosed the results of the feasibility study conducted regarding the sewage treatment facility installation, and Gwacheon City must disclose the study results immediately.
Sewage treatment facilities are nuisance facilities causing harm such as odor, damaging the safety of residents’ living environment, and can be fatal to the elderly and vulnerable who are sensitive to exposure to environmental harmful factors. Accordingly, relevant laws impose considerable restrictions on their installation.
Reviewing the district plan approval application submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the plan is to install the facility about 80 meters away from a densely populated residential area within Seocho District and an educational environment protection zone where elementary schools and kindergartens are located, which is a clear violation of the law as it falls under “prohibited facilities” according to Article 9 of the Act on the Protection of Educational Environment.
Therefore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, and Gwacheon City must recognize this clear legal violation and “withdraw the district plan approval application, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must immediately reject the application as it is a clear violation of the law.”
Accordingly, all members of our Seocho District Council strongly urge the withdrawal of Gwacheon City’s sewage treatment plant relocation plan, and resolve as follows to protect residents’ living environment and further improve their quality of life.
First, Gwacheon City must immediately withdraw the sewage treatment plant relocation plan!
Second, Gwacheon City must immediately disclose the related feasibility study results!
Third, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must immediately reject the district plan approval application!
2020. 10. .
All Members of the Seoul Metropolitan Seocho District Council
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