Ulleung Special Rescue Team and POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group Conduct Underwater Cleanup in Ulleung Region

The Ulleung Special Rescue Team, composed of professional divers from Ulleung County in North Gyeongsang Province, and the POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group conducted a joint underwater and coastal environmental cleanup activity.

Two organizations are conducting joint underwater and coastal environmental cleanup activities and taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Ulleung Special Rescue Team

From May 28 to May 30, a total of 45 members from both organizations worked for three days in Dodong, Jeodong, Namyang, and Hyeonpo Port in Ulleung, removing elements that hindered fishing activities and safety.

They collected 10 tons of waste, including discarded tires, fish traps, fishing nets, and steel pipes from safety railings from the inner harbors and ports. Afterward, they moved to the outer harbors to eradicate marine pests such as starfish and sea urchins, which are considered major contributors to the depletion of marine resources.

The POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group, which participated in the cleanup with the Ulleung Special Rescue Team, began as a scuba diving club for POSCO employees and was officially launched in 2009 as the company’s flagship talent donation volunteer group. With around 400 members active in Pohang, Gwangyang, and Seoul, the group is leading efforts to preserve the marine ecosystem, which is facing desertification.

In particular, the Clean Ocean Volunteer Group has significant meaning in that it is expanding its volunteer activities in collaboration with group affiliates to regions such as Ulleungdo, Geoje Island, and Geomundo, where Triton artificial reefs?made using steel by-products?have been deployed.

Choi Bucheol, head of the Ulleung Special Rescue Team, said, “If the seas around Dokdo and Ulleungdo, the easternmost pride of our country, become desolate, we will lose infinite resources. I am grateful to the members of the POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group for joining forces to protect and nurture our seas,” expressing his thoughts on the underwater cleanup activity.

Lee Chunsun, head of the POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group, said, “Seeing the Ulleung Special Rescue Team members serve as true guardians protecting the pristine seas of this clean island has been a valuable learning experience. I am simply grateful to be able to join in protecting the deep blue seas of Ulleung.”

The Ulleung Special Rescue Team, established in 2007, conducts more than 10 marine environmental maintenance activities each year, as well as life-saving operations and volunteer work such as being stationed at local beaches during the summer to prepare for water safety accidents.