Resident Briefings on Reinstallation to Be Held in Heunghae-eup on the 15th and Jangnyang-dong on the 20th
Transparent Disclosure of Malfunction Causes and Plans for Deep Borehole Seismometers
Citizen Participation Encouraged
Pohang City will hold resident briefings in Heunghae-eup and Jangnyang-dong regarding the reinstallation of deep borehole seismometers for safety management at the geothermal power plant site.
These briefings have been organized to transparently inform residents about the current status of installation and operation, as well as future plans for reinstallation, ahead of the scheduled reinstallation of the deep borehole seismometers in November.
The events will be hosted by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (the supervising agency) and Heesong Geotech (the main agency). They will take place prior to the meetings of the Heunghae-eup and Jangnyang-dong village leaders’ councils, and any interested citizen is welcome to attend.
The geothermal power plant site safety management project is being carried out to secure the safety of the geothermal power plant site, which triggered the Pohang earthquake. For ongoing monitoring, three deep borehole seismometers, three groundwater level monitoring devices, and one surface seismometer have been installed within the geothermal power plant site. In addition, 20 surface seismometers and three surface deformation monitoring stations have been installed in the vicinity.
However, in 2023, the deep borehole seismometers malfunctioned. After gathering feedback from experts and residents to accurately identify the cause of the malfunction and to reinstall the seismometers, the devices were retrieved. Currently, only surface seismometers and groundwater monitoring equipment are in operation at the geothermal power plant site.
A Pohang City official stated, "This briefing aims to address citizens’ questions about earthquake safety management and to transparently share the entire reinstallation process," adding, "We hope for active participation not only from residents of Heunghae-eup and Jangnyang-dong, but also from all citizens interested in earthquake safety."
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning are currently working on establishing the Pohang Earthquake Safety Comprehensive Center. They plan to further strengthen the response system and systematically enhance safety monitoring in the future.
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