Ulju County Mayor Lee Sun-gul, with residents, declares intent to attract a nuclear plant; submits application with 33,000 signatures to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP); Ulju County Council approves consent motion for a candidate site for a new plant
On the 17th, Ulju County in Ulsan submitted an application to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to be considered as a candidate site for a nuclear power plant and staged a relay march to demonstrate community support. The event was organized so residents could publicly express their backing and convey the community’s wishes in a voluntary, peaceful manner.
About 70 people participated, including Ulju County Mayor Lee Sun-gul; National Assembly member Seo Beom-su; Ulju County Council Chairman Choi Gil-young; city and county councilors; members of the joint countermeasure committee; and local residents. They held a send-off at Munsu Hall in Ulju County Hall and then walked in five segments to KHNP’s headquarters, covering a total of 47.5㎞ (29.5 miles).
At the final leg, all participants gathered to submit the county’s application along with a petition bearing 33,000 resident signatures.
Mayor Lee said, “I expect this relay march to demonstrate the community’s resolve and build consensus for attracting a new nuclear plant. Going forward, Ulju County will proceed calmly and responsibly with the steps related to attracting the plant, maintaining open communication with residents.”
Meanwhile, on the 4th, the Ulju County joint countermeasure committee walked 29.2㎞ (18.1 miles) from KHNP’s Human Resources Development Institute to Ulju County Hall to deliver a proposal to voluntarily apply to host the new plant and to hand over the residents’ petition. Then, on the 16th, the Ulju County Council convened its 244th extraordinary session and reviewed and approved the county’s “consent motion to voluntarily apply as a candidate site for a new nuclear plant.”
After the council approved the motion, Mayor Lee held a press conference and said, “Based on the residents’ earnest wishes and the council’s steadfast support, we will devote all our efforts to voluntarily attracting the new plant.”
Ulsan — Song Hee-sook, reporter (bitmul1@viva100.com)
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