Yangsang Seokgyesan Industrial Complex Undergrounding Project Waste Piled Up Like a Mountain... Yangsan City 'Unconcerned' Amid Residents' Protests

A dump truck is transporting illegal waste from an underground utility project site to another location. [Image source=Provided by reader]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] At the underground utility project site at the entrance of Seokgye Industrial Complex in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, the construction company is illegally dumping waste such as aggregate piles in nearby hills, but the administrative authorities are doing nothing, causing residents to protest.

At the entrance of Seokgye Industrial Complex in Sangbuk-myeon, Yangsan, an underground utility project commissioned by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has been underway since the end of last month.

A construction company from Changwon conducting the underground utility project has been found to be dumping hundreds of tons of various waste materials such as aggregates, concrete, and soil piles from the site onto nearby farmland, which is not an authorized storage area.

According to a whistleblower, over just two days on the 6th and 7th, a 15-ton dump truck made about 30 trips from the construction site to the dumping location, illegally disposing of an estimated over 400 tons of waste.

The site is where, in September 2020, a 10-meter-high retaining wall collapsed, causing soil and a 10-meter-wide asphalt road to be torn up.

KEPCO’s Southern Construction Headquarters had completed the underground utility work at the entrance road when the Seokgye Industrial Complex was developed, but due to the retaining wall collapse two years ago and subsequent typhoon damage, underground utility work has recently resumed here.

The construction company has been moving this waste toward the Gangseo District of Busan since the 9th, but the exact location is unknown.

A Yangsan city official said, “The team leader of the responsible department is on vacation, and the person in charge has tested positive for COVID-19, so we are unable to assess the situation. We will proceed with prompt response measures as soon as possible.”