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Gangwon Province related to the referendum the previous day on hosting a nuclear plant

The campaign against a planned nuclear power plant construction project in Samcheok, Gangwon Province is gathering steam.

Samcheok has sent notices to the central government and National Assembly calling for the project’s cancelation, while the city council is planning an overseas workshop to see the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan.

The city announced on Oct. 29 that it had sent notices requesting the plant construction project‘s cancelation to the Blue House, National Assembly, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power. In its message, it demanded that the administration cancel the city’s designation as an anticipated nuclear power zone and exclude it from its seventh framework plan for electricity supplies.

The nuclear power plant issue has been an obstacle to local development, fanning conflict and rancor between residents who support the construction and those who oppose it. It has recently flared up as issues have been raised with the procedural legitimacy of the bid to host the plant, which opponents say did not reflect residents’ actual thoughts on the issue.

Now the opposition appears to be spreading in Samcheok and Gangwon Province, with 85% of city residents voting against the plan in a September referendum organized by the Samcheok Nuclear Power Referendum Management Committee.

“A new nuclear power plant would have a huge impact on the lives and safety of residents in this region, so resident receptiveness has to be a priority,” said Lee Bok-woo, who supervises planning for Samcheok City Hall.

“We decided to express the citizens’ firm determination against the power plant bid and formally bring it to the attention of the administration and National Assembly,” Lee explained about the notice.

By Park Soo-hyuk, Gangwon correspondent

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