Mass Fish Death in Gyeongbuk: First Ever Revocation of Livestock Facility Permit... Heavy Penalty for Unauthorized Livestock Waste Discharge

Daegu District Court Wins First Trial in Lawsuit to Cancel Permit in Sangju City

Third Discharge, "Illegal Environmental Pollution by Livestock Farms Will Not Be Tolerated"

Fish carcasses are floating in the river in Mugok-ri, Gongseong-myeon, Sangju-si, Gyeongbuk. [Image source=Sangju-si]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] For the first time, a livestock farm in Gyeongbuk that caused environmental pollution had its business license revoked.

A first-instance court ruling upheld the legality of a local government’s cancellation of the license for a “pigsty” that illegally discharged livestock manure.

According to the Daegu District Court and Sangju City in Gyeongbuk on the 23rd, in the first-instance lawsuit filed by the pig farm against Sangju City, the authority that revoked the license, the court ruled on the 16th that “the license cancellation is lawful,” siding with Sangju City.

Sangju City won the lawsuit filed by the pig farm in Mugok-ri, Goseong-myeon, which was accused of polluting the surrounding environment by discharging livestock manure into public waters without directing it to treatment facilities, resulting in the cancellation of the livestock manure discharge facility permit.

The farm discharged improperly treated livestock manure into nearby reservoirs on February 20 of last year due to a malfunction in the air supply system of the manure storage tank.

Additionally, on June 14 of the same year, livestock manure stored outside the facility overflowed due to rainwater and leaked into the reservoir, causing fish deaths.

The farm filed an administrative lawsuit in objection after receiving the final license cancellation from Sangju City on October 22 through a hearing, following a third illegal discharge of livestock manure on September 8, 2020.

The Daegu District Court judged that the public interest in protecting residents’ living conditions from environmental pollution outweighs the economic losses caused by the inability to operate the livestock farm.

Hwang In-su, head of the Environmental Management Division of Sangju City, said, “This is the first time a license cancellation has been enforced on an actively operating livestock farm, and it will serve as a warning against illegal discharge of livestock manure causing environmental pollution,” adding, “We will protect the environment and help improve residents’ living conditions through strict application of the law.”