KEPCO pays large sums of money to certain organizations and residents in areas where transmission towers pass through

Pylon installation work for KEPCO\'s Donghae Coast-Shingapyeong transmission line. Kyunghyang Newspaper photo

It has been confirmed that the Korea Electric Power corporation (KEPCO) provided hundreds of millions of won to certain residents and organizations, including the head of the village, as part of its East Coast Transmission Line Project. Those who received money or were involved in support projects served as representatives of residents on the location selection committee, while other residents were marginalized from relevant information. There are also allegations of "colluding" of residents' opinions on the selection of the location of transmission lines.

According to a report on the 16th, KEPCO provided money and goods to the local chiefs' councils, village associations, and elementary school alumni associations in the areas where the transmission towers would pass through during the construction of the 500-kilovolt (kV) East Coast to Shingapyeong T/L project. According to KEPCO's 'Hongcheon Event Support History Document', 22 grants were made to the Hongcheon area alone from 2014 to 2019. The money was found to be paid as 'business management expenses' by KEPCO, unlike the subsidies under the Transmission Facility Surrounding Act or special subsidies. A Miryang resident said, "There is a rumor that KEPCO distributes 'pocket money' during the construction of transmission towers," which was confirmed by documents.

KEPCO's support for Hongcheon from 2014 to 2019 totaled KRW 175.5 million. KEPCO officials said that there were several other support programs outside of this period, and that they were carried out in other areas besides Hongcheon. Considering that the East Coast Transmission Line Project has been in place since 2009, the total amount of support could be even higher.

From the official documents, it seems that there is nothing wrong with the process, as organizations openly request funding from KEPCO and KEPCO responds. However, the fact that the subsidy was available was not disclosed to the general public, and only certain organizations, such as the head of a village Council, were able to benefit from it. The organizations that received the support were able to request the money from KEPCO through a kind of broker called 'Event Cooperation Requesters'. When asked, "Was it only possible to apply for the funding through a collaborator?" Mr. A, who was named as a requestor in the official letter, said, "Yes," and added, "It is impossible to inform each individual. It is a kind of practice."

Those who received money from KEPCO were then selected to serve as the representative location selection committee members. KEPCO selected the chairman of the village council, the secretary-general, and Mr. A as the location selection committee members and held five meetings until 2019.

KEPCO did not hold a briefing session for residents until then, so residents were not even aware that the tower project was underway or that a location selection committee had been formed. "We didn't find out about it until June 2019," said Kang Seok-hyun, secretary of the anti-tower committee in Hongcheon-gun, adding, "KEPCO is paying people who are not representative of the residents and formally claiming their opinions.“

Residents fear that KEPCO's project will destroy their community. "KEPCO is using money to lure and intimidate the residents," said Nam Gung-seok, a resident of Hongcheon. "Just as they did in Miryang, just as they did in Cheongdo-gun, they are trampling on the humanity and dignity of the residents using the same tactics."

A KEPCO official responded, "The village support project was carried out for the purpose of coexistence with local residents," and said, "KEPCO is also making efforts to mediate by establishing standards and procedures to prevent and resolve conflicts between residents." He added, "In most villages, the support projects are running smoothly," and said, "I hope you will look at it positively."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.