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

Following a residents referendum held in Samcheok, Gangwon Province in Oct. 2014, about building a nuclear power plant in the area, opposition to nuclear plants is also growing in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang Province, another site designated for a nuclear power plant.

On Jan. 6, Lee Gang-seok, 54, chair of the Yeongdeok County Council, held a press conference at the council at which he stated his opposition to the construction of a nuclear plant. “I express my deep apologies that the former mayor of the county and the county council shortsightedly and without adequate review accepted the hazardous powder keg of nuclear power on the pretext of regional development,” Lee said.

“In March 2011, just three months after we agreed to host a nuclear plant in Yeongdeok County, a nuclear disaster befell Fukushima, Japan. Today, not only Japanese but also South Koreans are trembling in fear following revelations about corruption at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and the discovery that nuclear power can cause cancer,” Lee said.

On Dec. 31, 2010, Yeongdeok County submitted a bid to construct a nuclear plant, and the county was selected as a candidate in 2011. In Sept. 2012, it was decided that a total of eight new 1.5 million kW nuclear reactors would be built by 2035, with four in Yeongdeok County and four in Samcheok.

Opposition to the nuclear plants has been increasing in the Yeongdeok County Council, which is controlled by conservatives, since the residents referendum about the nuclear plant that took place in Samcheok on Oct. 9 of last year.

“Since the referendum in Samcheok, Yeongdeok residents’ opinions have been changing, too, which is influencing local politicians,” said an official at the Yeongdeok County Council.

Six of the seven members of the Yeongdeok County Council are from the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP), while one is independent.

Oct. 10. Samcheok citizens voted overwhelmingly in opposition to the nuclear plant

On Dec. 1, 2014, the Yeongdeok County Council created a special committee for nuclear power that includes all seven council members. The committee, which will be active through June of this year, is planning to solicit the opinions of all Yeongdeok County residents about constructing a nuclear plant.

During its review of the budget for the 2015 fiscal year in Dec. 2014, Yeongdeok County Council cut 13 billion won (US$11.83 million) in subsidies for nuclear power requested by Yeongdeok County.

“We are going to conduct our campaign against nuclear power along with civic groups and the special committee for nuclear power at the Yeongdeok County Council. Determining the will of all the people in the region will require a residents referendum,” said Park Hye-ryeong, executive chair of The Committee to Fight for Nullifying the Construction of a Nuclear Plant in Yeongdeok.

By Koo Dae-sun, Daegu correspondent