[Report] After Two Months of Suspension, Youngpoong Seokpo Smelter Transforms and Embarks on a New Start as an Eco-Friendly Facility

Operations Suspended for Nearly Two Months from Late February
Comprehensive Overhaul of Smelter Systems
Stable Production Restored from May
Water Quality Improved with Advanced Facilities such as ZLD

On July 25, I visited Seokpo-myeon in Bonghwa-gun, North Gyeongsang Province. After traveling along a winding road at the foot of the mountain, I arrived at the Youngpoong Seokpo Smelter, where white steam was billowing out. The factory, which had once come to a halt, had begun to breathe vigorously again.

A view of Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter Plant 1 located in Seokpo-myeon, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk, visited on the 25th. Yeongpung

Youngpoong Seokpo Smelter suspended operations for one month and thirty days, from the end of February to the end of April this year. This was due to an order to suspend operations following a Supreme Court ruling last year that found the company in violation of the Water Environment Conservation Act. The court determined that Youngpoong had illegally developed an unauthorized well and had committed unlawful acts, such as discharging wastewater that overflowed from the sedimentation tank not through the final outlet, but instead into a double retaining wall and a rainwater storage facility. This was an unprecedented crisis for the company since its establishment in 1970.

However, Youngpoong turned this crisis into an opportunity. During the suspension period, the company safely stored process solutions in emergency storage facilities and thoroughly inspected and maintained key equipment. At the same time, Youngpoong completely overhauled its environmental and safety management systems, working to fundamentally improve the smelter's overall operations. As a result, after resuming operations at the end of April, the facility quickly returned to normal, and by mid-May, it had restored a stable production system.

A Youngpoong representative said, "A smelter is a large-scale process industry where various substances flow through long pipelines and numerous facilities 24 hours a day, much like blood in the human body. The process must not stop for the equipment to function properly. If operations are suddenly halted, there is a risk of corrosion, fire, and even explosion. However, Youngpoong used this suspension as an opportunity for a complete overhaul."

Zero Liquid Discharge Facility 'ZLD'..."Not a Single Drop of Wastewater Is Released"

The most striking feature at the site, where a large panel reads 'Not a single drop of process water will be released,' was the four massive steel tanks installed right next to the Nakdong River. This is the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system, the first of its kind among smelters worldwide and the only one in Korea.

The zero-discharge system at Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter. Yeongpung

Under the slogan 'Coexistence with the Environment,' Youngpoong has continuously invested in realizing an eco-friendly smelter. The ZLD system is a representative example. This facility does not discharge any wastewater generated during the smelting process to the outside; instead, it strategically treats and recycles it back into the process. A total of 46 billion KRW was invested. This system saves approximately 880,000 cubic meters of industrial water annually and helps protect the water resources of the Nakdong River. The related technology has been patented, and recently, it has become a benchmark across various industries, especially in the secondary battery and metals sectors.

In addition, a cutoff wall and groundwater collection facilities have been installed along a 3-kilometer section outside the smelter to prevent contaminated groundwater from flowing into the Nakdong River. The entire plant floor features a triple containment structure to fundamentally block soil contamination. For air quality improvement, advanced equipment such as ozone-injection type nitrogen oxide reduction devices, an expanded oxygen plant, and a remote monitoring system (TMS) have also been introduced.

View of the Distributed Control System (DCS) room for the zero-liquid discharge system at Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter. Yeongpung

As a result of these efforts, according to the Ministry of Environment's Water Environment Information System as of January this year, water quality at the 'Seokpo 2' point downstream of the Seokpo Smelter measured zinc at 0.15044 mg/L, and both cadmium and lead at 0 mg/L, which is well below legal limits.

Lim Gwanggil, chairman of the Seokpo-myeon Current Issues Committee, whom I met in Seokpo-myeon that day, said, "Some environmental groups and outsiders talk as if the smelter is polluting the environment based on past data, but things are completely different now."

A Youngpoong representative said, "Youngpoong is not just a company that smelts metals, but part of a community that has grown and thrived together with this region. We will continue to move forward as a smelter that coexists with the environment and walks alongside the local community."