After the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy issued its official implementation approval for the Hongcheon pumped-storage project, residents of Pungcheon-ri strongly protested. They say their opposition was completely ignored during the approval process.
With the approval in place, the Daewoo E&C consortium is set to begin a project worth 615.5 billion KRW over 84 months, while advance works such as access roads are already underway.
Residents have held weekly protests for nearly seven years since 2019. Their distrust deepened when promises made by the Hongcheon County governor to halt the project if residents opposed it were not kept. The approval notice has only intensified that anger.
Local concern is growing that once major construction begins, direct clashes between residents and contractors could follow unless meaningful dialogue is restored.
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