With construction of the extra-high-voltage transmission line temporarily suspended, the government visited the Chungcheong region on the 27th to seek alternatives.
The trip responded to residents’ on-site inspections of project sections awaiting a final route decision and to their calls for a reexamination.
On the 27th, Minister Kim Seong-hwan toured the Daedunsan-ro area in Jinsan-myeon, Geumsan County, South Chungcheong Province, and attended a briefing on the 345 Sinjeong-eup–Sin Gyerong construction segment.
The meeting included the head of KEPCO’s Central Construction Headquarters, the chair of Geumsan County’s countermeasure committee, and members of Daejeon’s Seo-gu countermeasure committee to discuss the criteria used to site the transmission line.
Candidate routes for the Sinjeong-eup–Sin Gyerong segment cross the Chungcheong region, passing through Geumsan, Nonsan, Gyeryong and parts of Daejeon Seo-gu, including Jangandong, Odong, Pyeongchon-dong, Umyeong-dong and Wonjeong-dong. The final route confirmation process is currently on hold.
At the briefing, the criteria for routing through mountain areas versus residential neighborhoods became a focal point.
Residents said the original, resident-led siting committee had assigned an 80-point weight to provincial parks, which would have allowed the transmission line to avoid those areas. They accused KEPCO of later changing that weight to 100 points, effectively ruling out routing through provincial parks.
A representative of the Geumsan countermeasure committee said, \”KEPCO claims it seeks to minimize harm to residents, but by assigning a 100-point weight to provincial parks it has pushed the route toward residential neighborhoods.\”
Minister Kim expressed sympathy with concerns about the siting criteria and was reported to have said, \”Ask yourself: do people come first, or does nature come first?\”
The minister also visited the National Daejeon Memorial Cemetery in Yuseong District to receive KEPCO’s briefing on the Sin Gyerong–Buk Cheonan candidate route and to hear residents’ concerns.
Residents argued that, while the candidate route does not pass through the cemetery, it would run close by and cut through the Hakha-dong residential area. They handed the minister a written protest against the Daejeon transmission line construction.
Meanwhile, the Daejeon Transmission Tower Countermeasure Committee held a press conference that morning in front of Yuseong District Office and released the results of policy questionnaires it had sent to Seo-gu and Yuseong-gu mayoral candidates between the 20th and 25th of this month.
According to the committee, among five candidates, Democratic Party candidate Jeong Yong-rae for Yuseong-gu mayor acknowledged that fully canceling the project would be unrealistic and called for meaningful compensation measures for affected residents. People Power Party candidate Seo Cheol-mo for Seo-gu mayor reportedly offered burying the lines and rerouting as alternatives.
The committee said, \”Candidates’ positions are far from residents’ demand for a full cancellation or indicate indifference. Authorities must provide immediate administrative and legal support to resolve the transmission line issue.\”
Most Commented