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Mayor Park Heong-joon: “A major step forward in water-related discussions with all relevant agencies at the table”… Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do to Continue Joint Response on Diversifying Water Intake Sources

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that it held meaningful discussions to resolve water-related issues at a meeting of agencies involved in the Nakdong River Intake Source Diversification Project (hereinafter, the “meeting”), which was held yesterday (20) at 4:00 p.m. in the Provincial Government Conference Room of the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government Office.

The meeting was attended by seven people in total, including Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon; Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Park Wan-soo; National Assembly member Park Sang-ung; the mayors of Uiryeong County and Changnyeong County; the Director General for Water Use Policy of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment; and the head of the Changnyeong County Opposition Committee. They held in-depth discussions on the overall project and concerns raised by residents.

In addition, deputy heads of local governments from Hapcheon County as well as beneficiary areas including Changwon, Yangsan, and Gimhae, and from Haman County were also present, making the meeting all the more meaningful with the participation of all relevant local governments.

The meeting proceeded in the following order: a report by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment on progress in the Nakdong River Intake Source Diversification Project; a report by Busan Metropolitan City on measures for win-win cooperation in the intake areas; a discussion; Q&A; and sharing of each agency’s position.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment explained the project’s progress in the form of responses to key questions raised by the opposition committee to date, including the intake plan by location, the scope of impacts on groundwater levels, measures to address groundwater-level declines, and compensation measures.

Busan Metropolitan City presented practical support measures to strengthen local ties, including establishing a Busan–Changnyeong win-win development fund, providing scholarships and dormitory support for students from Changnyeong County, and supporting purchases of agricultural products from Changnyeong County.

During the subsequent discussion session, including Q&A and sharing positions by each agency, questions largely focused on the Ministry’s stance regarding the opening of the Changnyeong-Haman Weir and the Hapcheon-Changnyeong Weir. Through sufficient discussion, participants reached an agreement that the government must first present a clear and firm position on opening the weirs, and they actively exchanged views on future measures to that end.

With all relevant local governments in attendance, the meeting also included the Ministry’s proactive explanation of the project’s implementation plan, as well as measures to prevent damage that intake-area residents are concerned about and measures for regional win-win support.

The Ministry is currently pursuing the opening of weirs on the Nakdong River to restore “naturalness and biodiversity in major rivers,” while local residents are strongly opposed, concerned that opening the weirs could lower the water level of the Nakdong River and, in turn, reduce groundwater levels as well.

In particular, resident representatives opposed opening the weirs, which could be directly linked to lower groundwater levels, and asked about the government’s position. In addition, all participants argued that the intake source diversification project must proceed on the premise that the weir-opening issue is resolved, and urged the government to take active steps to solve the problem.

Busan Metropolitan City and Gyeongsangnam-do pledged to continue listening to residents’ opinions together with the government and to actively reflect them in 추진 the project. They also exchanged potential solutions, such as establishing a communication channel in the form of a standing consultative body.

Meanwhile, based on what was agreed upon at the meeting, Busan Metropolitan City plans to hold a briefing session for Changnyeong County residents in February and to form a standing consultative body in early March. Through these efforts, it plans to continue working to secure the resident consent necessary to proceed with the project.

To address residents’ concerns and explain win-win development measures in detail, the Busan Mayor and the Gyeongsangnam-do Governor agreed to hold the resident briefing session in February, and the opposition committee decided to collect opinions from the Ministry and the relevant towns and townships to finalize a specific date.

In addition, recognizing the need for the government’s proactive role, the city agreed—separately from the resident briefing session—to form a standing consultative body with participation at the vice-minister level or higher from the Ministry in early March, in order to continue discussions on the weir-opening issue, damage-prevention measures, and win-win support measures.

Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “Our discussions have made significant progress as Busan Metropolitan City and Gyeongsangnam-do work together to solve water-related issues. In particular, it is highly meaningful that all relevant local governments were represented, with Hapcheon County and deputy heads of local governments from beneficiary areas—Changwon, Yangsan, and Gimhae—as well as Haman County all in attendance. Busan Metropolitan City will continue its efforts to create conditions that residents can agree to.”

He added, “Since everyone agreed that the role of the Ministry is important, the government needs to show a proactive commitment to resolving the issue.”