"Opposition to Unilateral Use of Hwacheon Dam Water... Prime Minister's Office Must Step In"

Hwacheon County Residents Hold Rally on the 11th... 10,000-Person Petition Underway
"Questions Raised About Dam Safety"... Demand 48 Billion Won Annual Compensation

The level of opposition among Hwacheon residents is rising regarding the decision to supply Hwacheon Dam water to the semiconductor industrial complex. The Hwacheon County Council of Social Organizations in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Chairman Kim Yong-sik) announced on the 10th that they will hold a county-wide resolution rally against the supply of Hwacheon Dam water to the semiconductor industrial complex immediately after the opening ceremony of the 40th Yonghwa Festival, which will be held tomorrow (the 11th) at Hwacheon Sports Park.

On August 13th, at the Paroho dock in Guman-ri, Gandong-myeon, Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, the Hwacheon-gun Social Organizations Council held a press conference opposing the water supply from Hwacheon Dam while shouting slogans.

According to the council, about 5,000 residents from five towns and townships participating in the Yonghwa Festival will shout opposition slogans in unison at the resolution rally tomorrow. Jeong Sang-cheol, chairman of the Hwacheon County Village Chiefs Association, and Kim Eun-kyung, senior vice president of the Hwacheon County Women's Organizations Council, are scheduled to read opposition statements.

Currently, in Hwacheon County, a county-wide signature campaign opposing the unilateral use of Hwacheon Dam water is actively underway, with 10,000 signatures collected.

Hwacheon residents are demanding appropriate compensation for the damages caused by Hwacheon Dam. According to a survey conducted this year by the Gangwon National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, damages amounting to 3.2656 trillion KRW, averaging 48 billion KRW annually, have occurred from 1958 to 2022 due to farmland and road submersion and the frequent occurrence of displaced persons caused by the dam.

Additionally, the resolution rally on the 11th plans to demand disclosure of the nature and details of the ongoing construction at Hwacheon Dam. Hwacheon Dam, which was bombed during the Korean War in 1950-53, has never had its safety inspection results publicly released since its completion in 1944. Under these circumstances, Hwacheon residents harbor suspicions that the construction currently underway at Hwacheon Dam, which has not been clearly disclosed, may be related to dam safety issues.

According to a representative of the Hwacheon County Council of Social Organizations, Hwacheon residents are expected to strongly urge the Prime Minister's Office to take the lead in this matter, as the Hwacheon Dam issue falls under the jurisdiction of multiple ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Kim Yong-sik, chairman of the Hwacheon County Council of Social Organizations, emphasized, "The consistent stance of the residents is that they absolutely cannot accept the government's unilateral decision to supply Hwacheon Dam water to the semiconductor industrial complex."

Hwacheon County Governor Choi Moon-soon stated, "The residents' position is either to compensate for the annual damage of 48 billion KRW or to rather establish the semiconductor industrial complex in Hwacheon," adding, "The government should properly understand the feelings of the residents who have endured property rights damages for decades due to the border area status at least once."

Meanwhile, in August, Hwacheon County social organizations and residents held a press conference opposing the supply of Hwacheon Dam water at the Paroho dock in Guman-ri, Gandong-myeon.