40 Tractors Mobilized Near Yangpyeong Landfill Against "Invalid Extension Agreement"

A two-lane round-trip road stretching from the entrance of Wolsan 1-ri village in Jipyeong-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, to the Yangpyeong Resource Recovery Center in Muwang-ri (Jipyeong-myeon) on the morning of the 14th.

Some 40 tractors lined up, bearing banners with slogans such as "Nullify illegal and opaque term extension" and "Reorganize the qualified resident consultative body."

As the residents staged a slow-drive protest, crawling at low speeds along a 5-kilometer section, waste transport vehicles were blocked from entering, disrupting garbage dumping operations.

The conflict flared up after Yangpyeong-gun agreed with the Yangpyeong Resource Recovery Center Resident Support Consultative Body on the 2nd to extend the landfill's operation period by 30 years until 2057.

The Jipyeong-myeon Muwang-ri Landfill Illegal Extension Opposition Promotion Committee, which took physical action in protest, is arguing that the agreement is null and void.

While some residents of Jipyeong-myeon have protested the county's decision to extend the term, they maintain that they are not unconditionally opposed to extending the landfill.

Their stance is that the agreement with the unqualified existing consultative body must be canceled, a new resident support body should be formed, and the operation plans should be renegotiated.

Behind the opposition committee's claim that the consultative body is "unqualified" lies murky administrative handling by Yangpyeong-gun.

This is because residents living outside the indirect impact zone (within a 2-kilometer radius) under the Act on Promotion of Installation of Waste Disposal Facilities are leading the existing consultative body, and Yangpyeong-gun does not possess foundational documents such as the environmental impact assessment report—which presumably served as the basis when the county designated and announced 11 affected villages in November 2007—citing the "expiration of the preservation period."

Their logic is that since the county cannot even present the grounds for determining the impact zone from 20 years ago, the existing resident support consultative body cannot be recognized as qualified.


An official from the opposition committee stated, "The 30-year extension agreement signed by the county with an unqualified resident organization has no legal effect," adding, "A new resident consultative body must be formed, and the landfill operation plans must be renegotiated after undergoing an environmental impact assessment."

The opposition committee plans to file a petition for an audit with the Board of Audit and Inspection, along with filing for a provisional injunction to suspend the extension approval and a main lawsuit in court.

An official from Yangpyeong-gun stated, "The existing resident consultative body is composed of residents from the 11 affected villages designated and announced in 2007, so there is no problem with it, and we are facing difficulties in responding because the supporting documents no longer remain." However, the official added, "We will meet directly with protesting residents, including those in Wolsan 1-ri, Jipyeong-myeon, to resolve the issue through dialogue."

(Photo provided by the Opposition Promotion Committee, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.