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Busan Metropolitan City’s Special Judicial Police Uncover 21 Businesses Illegally Emitting Environmental Pollutants

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that its Special Judicial Police (hereafter “Special Police”) conducted a special investigation from April through June into 130 manufacturing businesses operating in residential and greenbelt areas where pollutant-emitting facilities are restricted. The investigation uncovered 21 businesses operating unregistered facilities emitting environmental pollutants.

This initiative followed reports indicating that some small-scale manufacturers in these restricted zones had been illegally installing and operating pollutant-emitting equipment, thereby polluting the environment and compromising residents’ quality of life.

Of the businesses caught:

• ●12 had installed and operated unregistered air pollutant emission facilities,

• ●3 had unregistered noise and vibration facilities,

• ●5 had unregistered air and noise/vibration emission facilities,

• ●1 had unregistered air and wastewater emission facilities.

These violations are subject to fines of up to 50 million KRW and administrative penalties such as facility closures.

Among the cases:

• ●Company A, a lumber processing business, was found to be operating a grinder that emitted air pollutants and a sawing machine that generated noise and vibrations, without registering either as required.

• ●Company B, specializing in aluminum surface treatment, had installed and operated a furnace and drying unit emitting air pollutants without proper registration.

The businesses in question are located in areas with relatively low land and rental costs, such as non-industrial zones, and were found to be operating under the false assumption that environmental regulations would not apply. These companies installed and ran pollutant-emitting facilities without notifying local authorities, thereby discharging dust, odors, and noise.

Most of these businesses failed to install control equipment to prevent the emission of pollutants during operation. According to current laws such as the Clean Air Conservation Act, operating unregistered facilities may result in criminal charges including imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW, in addition to administrative orders such as shutdowns.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “To realize a clean and safe Busan, we will rigorously investigate environmental violations at factories operating in areas where pollutant-emitting facilities are restricted. We will also notify the respective district offices to impose administrative penalties such as closure orders and encourage the relocation of such businesses to areas where permits can be granted.”