Translation result.
The push to build a medical waste incinerator in Yangseong-myeon, Anseong, has become a full-blown scandal. After prosecutors were notified that the developer and several village chiefs accepted bribes, the project’s claim of community support evaporated overnight. Councilor Hwang Yun-hee’s call at the plenary session on the 31st of last month to halt administrative procedures therefore carries added weight.
The facts are straightforward. In early March, Anseong Police referred the incinerator operator and 12 current and former village chiefs to prosecutors on charges they exchanged money for signed consent forms. In an unprecedented breach, the Environment Agency also exposed the personal data of 2,274 residents who opposed the project. At this point, describing the process as normal administrative procedure is untenable.
The Wanju County example that Hwang cited should serve as a clear warning to Anseong. Wanju rejected the developer’s proposal—prioritizing residents’ harm and the public interest—and later prevailed in the first-instance administrative appeal. That undercuts Anseong City’s argument that it cannot refuse a proposal because it fears administrative litigation.
Anseong already bears the costs of transmission lines, air pollution and wastewater discharges tied to nearby semiconductor complexes in Yongin and Pyeongtaek.
Put bluntly, the city is shouldering the burden while others reap the benefits. Other jurisdictions collect the tax revenue and profits, while Anseong residents absorb the harm. We cannot stand by as officials attempt to force a hazardous medical-waste incinerator through by improper means.
The city conditionally approved the project last year and issued a public inspection notice earlier this year. But moving forward with a project that is compromised from the outset will only deepen conflict.
Anseong City must now answer. It needs to take a firm stance that prioritizes public safety and administrative fairness over the fear of legal battles.
/Lee Myeong-jong, Director of Social Affairs Division 2, Gyeonggi Headquarters
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