“In my backyard!”... Yeongyang-gun Abandons 'NIMBY', Enthusiasm for Pumped Storage Power Plant Grows Hot

Residents Choosing to Host Major Events to Counter Population Decline

Gyeongbuk Yeongyang-gun, struggling to maintain a population of 16,000, is abuzz with activity. Banners are hung along roadsides and residential areas in a competitive frenzy.

The number of banners representing the anxious situation of Yeongyang residents is too numerous to count. The so-called official banners are only a fraction. The banners covering building exteriors or hanging densely in the streets have been voluntarily put up by the countywide attraction committee, construction companies and businesses, and various civic groups and associations.

They bear slogans such as "Unanimous Support for Pumped Storage Power Plant Attraction," "All Residents Are Attraction Committee Members," and "Unified Opinion for Pumped Storage Power Plant Attraction." Not only banners but also every village is bustling with efforts to collect residents' signatures for the attraction of the pumped storage power plant, involving elders and children alike.

A banner hung on the street in Yeongyang-gun.

Although public facilities like this are necessary, they are often regarded as a type of nuisance facility and shunned due to collective selfishness, but such phenomena do not apply in Yeongyang-gun now. The 'NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)' phenomenon has transformed into 'IMBY (In My Backyard)' in Yeongyang.

While it is common for public facilities like power plants to face setbacks due to NIMBY opposition, in Yeongyang-gun, residents are stepping forward with open arms, saying "Please come quickly."

What is happening in the quiet Yeongyang-gun, filled with chili peppers, wild mountain vegetables, and starlight?

Yeongyang-gun is facing the crisis of local extinction due to population decline and aging. This year, the population has dropped below 16,000 to around 15,000. Except for Ulleung-gun in Gyeongbuk, it is the smallest basic local government in the country by population.

Yeongyang-gun is making every effort to escape the local extinction crisis, having enacted the nation's first ordinance supporting newborn childcare expenses and the first population support ordinance nationwide, but these efforts have been insufficient to reverse the downward trend.

Population decline trend by nutritional group by year. [Image source=Statistics Korea KOSIS Indicator]

Monthly Nutritional Group Population Decline Trend. [Image Source=Statistics Korea KOSIS Indicator]

In this situation, an opportunity to attract a pumped storage power plant has arisen. A pumped storage power plant uses surplus electricity to pump water to a high-altitude reservoir, storing it, and then generates power by releasing the water when needed.

Constructing a reservoir requires relocation of local village residents, and environmental destruction occurs during the power plant construction process, so pumped storage power plants are considered typical NIMBY targets like nuclear power plants or waste disposal sites.

However, this year, when Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power selected Yeongyang-gun as a candidate site for the pumped storage power plant construction, the residents of Yeongyang-gun embraced the IMBY spirit and threw themselves into the attraction campaign with their lives on the line.

The pumped storage power plant Yeongyang-gun aims to attract is a grand project with a capacity of 1000 MW, a total project cost of 2 trillion won, and a construction period of 10 years.

Yeongyang-gun expects that employees from KHNP and partner companies will relocate, increasing the population, and about 100 people will gain jobs. They also plan to turn the area around the power plant into a new tourist attraction. Once the pumped storage power plant is established, the region can secure more than 93.6 billion won in regional development funds and 1.4 billion won annually from property tax and local income tax.

Yeongyang-gun is going "all in" on attracting the power plant by emphasizing the region's strengths. With 86% of its administrative area consisting of mountainous terrain, it has the suitable elevation difference for constructing a pumped storage power plant, and the surrounding conditions are unlikely to change significantly after construction, allowing for stable operation.

They also highlight that Yeongyang-gun hosts the nation's largest wind power complex and that neighboring Uljin has the Hanul and Shin-Hanul nuclear power plants, which could create synergy.

Banner stands placed throughout Yeongyang-gun.

Yeongyang-gun has formed a nationwide attraction committee composed of about 200 representatives with regional representation. The committee plans to promote attraction, publicity, signature campaigns, and hold nationwide resolution meetings to form public opinion and submit government petitions.

They are conducting a large-scale signature campaign aiming for more than 13,000 signatures, which is 80% of the county's population, before submitting the application for the pumped storage power plant.

In July, Yeongyang-gun temporarily suspended the campaign for about a month to console the residents of Bonghwa-gun, who suffered from heavy rain damage. Although Bonghwa-gun is a competitor in the power plant attraction, Yeongyang-gun stated this was out of consideration for the neighboring local government.

Oh Do-chang, the mayor of Yeongyang-gun, said, "We consider this the last chance given by heaven to overcome the local extinction crisis, and we are mobilizing all administrative resources with the residents united in one heart, pouring sweat into attracting the pumped storage power plant."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "By attracting the pumped storage power plant as an eco-friendly growth project, we have the opportunity to achieve four benefits at once: revitalizing the local economy, increasing the population, expanding infrastructure, and boosting tourism. With the limited time remaining, let's all work hard to ensure the pumped storage power plant is definitely attracted to Yeongyang-gun."