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| Senior residents of Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, clash with police at a construction site of a power tower in the southeastern city, Tuesday. State-run Korea Electric Power Company, or KEPCO, said that it will resume construction of the 52 high-voltage power towers in the region from today, triggering fierce opposition from residents who are concerned about possible safety problems with the towers. / Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-won
Hundreds of residents from four small towns in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, clashed with riot police Tuesday during a rally they held to prevent Korea Electricity Power Company (KEPCO) from resuming construction of high-voltage power towers in the southeastern city.
About 600 policemen were dispatched to five construction sites across the region, preventing residents ― mostly senior citizens in their 70s and 80s ― from interrupting the establishment of 52 power towers.
The clash came after KEPCO said that it will resume the construction from today.
It said it is essential to set up the transmission towers there to supply sufficient electricity to other regions. With the towers in place and operational, KEPCO plans to deliver 765 kilovolts of electricity from two nuclear power plants in Ulsan to an electrical substation in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.
"We cannot suspend the construction process anymore, considering the possibility of power shortages next summer. We ask residents of Miryang and people to understand this," said KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik at a press briefing.
The country suffered from a lack of electricity this summer because three nuclear power plants abruptly stopped working due to technical problems. The shortage of power drove the government to launch an aggressive power-saving campaign, enforcing government offices to turn off their air-conditioners.
However, residents in Miryang opposed the construction plan and asked the company to set up underground power transmissions, use current low-voltage towers, or establish high-voltage power towers in other regions.
"It is possible to establish underground power transmissions, but the government rejects this because it may think that yielding to Miryang residents will set a bad precedent," said Lee Kye-sam, secretary general of the residents' association in an interview with Oh My News, a local Internet media.
Lee said that what they want is not expensive compensation, but people to listen to their opinions and concerns over safety issues. Residents have argued that high-voltage power towers will cause serious health issues to residents, including a high rate of cancer cases and deformed babies, citing the example of other regions in the country that have suffered this way.
Activists also expressed their concern regarding the construction and urged the government to halt the project right now, saying it could cause an undesirable situation.
"We are concerned that resuming the construction will clash with residents who are mostly senior citizens. We cannot understand why KEPCO and the government are force to resume it this way," said the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements.
In fact, Lee Chi-woo, a 74-year-old Miryang resident set himself on fire and died in January 2012 while opposing the government's plan to construct power plants there.
However, the government is seeking to mobilize law enforcement officials and prosecutors to crack down on residents who oppose its plans, apparently having learned nothing from Lee's death. The commission of state public security agencies in the region ― including police station and prosecutors' office ― said that the government will show no mercy to residents who commit acts of violence during any protests and that anyone who obstructs the construction will be arrested.
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