Residents demand relocation from gas-contaminated village

GUMI, North Gyeongsang Province (Yonhap) -- Angry villagers suffering after a massive gas leak in southern South Korea decided Saturday to move to a safer region and demanded local governments provide them with a proper relocation site.

Residents of Bongsan-ri village in the southeastern city of Gumi decided in a meeting to relocate after the village was affected by the Sept. 27 leak of about eight tons of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison which can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system.

Five workers were killed in the accident at the compound of chemical maker Hube Global at the Gumi National Industrial Complex in the industrial city, about 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The secondary damage has been extensive and fast spreading.

A total of 1,594 people have been treated for nausea, rashes and other symptoms. Crops and fruit on more than 90 hectares of farmlands and orchards have withered, and some 1,300 livestock animals have been drooling heavily or showing symptoms similar to a human cold.

"We decided to relocate by ourselves as the government is doing nothing for us," village leader Park Myung-seok said. Residents demanded that the Gumi city government and the Bongsan-ri office provide them with a relocation site.

The village is home to about 300 people.

The government has come under fire for responding poorly to the accident.

On Friday, a team of 26 investigators and concerned officials led by the Prime Minister's Office launched an investigation to assess the extent of the damage.