Sejong, February 27 - Minister of Environment Han Wha-jin visited a site of abandoned waste in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, on February 13 to inspect the response to illegal waste. On this day, Mayor Oh Seong-hwan of Dangjin and other staff members from the local government joined the visit. They examined the illegal waste sites in the jurisdiction of Dangjin and checked what they were doing to prevent illegal dumping.

After the inspection, the Ministry of Environment announced that it would fully implement measures to stop organized illegal dumping and abandoned waste. First, the Ministry will conduct a heated investigation in cooperation with the Korean National Police Agency (National Office of Investigation) to crack down on organized illegal activities of dumping waste in rented empty warehouses or land. The target of an investigation will be places where the persons illegally discarding waste have not been identified or where it is difficult to determine the whereabouts of the persons who illegally dump waste, so no disposition, such as an order for waste treatment and accusation, has been made. 

In addition, the Ministry will apply for the “Intelligent Waste Management System” used to inspect inappropriate transfer of waste in real-time to companies that treat hazardous designated waste from October 2023. The “Intelligent Waste Management System” collects various types of data, including the location of the vehicle carrying the waste (GPS), CCTV footage of vehicles entering the waste treatment company and storage facilities, and on-site information such as the weight of the incoming and outgoing waste from the surveillance system of the Korea Environment Corporation. This way, it is possible to completely prevent the waste transfer to inappropriate locations or falsified weight reports.

The Ministry will also partner with local governments and the center for the appropriate process of Korea Environment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the “Center”) to strengthen its efforts to manage and prevent illegal waste. The number of sites for the joint inspection of the Ministry of Environment, local government, and the center will be increased from 50 to 100. And the number of locations with concerns for illegal dumping that are subject to patrol will be increased from 120 to 150 this year. For recycling companies exceeding 80% of the permitted storage amount, the Ministry will regularly inspect their waste in and out.

In several cases, people purchase land in suburban areas to discard waste illegally, so the Ministry will implement measures to stop those cases. To ensure that landowners will not be falsely accused, the Wastes Control Act will be revised so that each local government will report to the landowner immediately when notified of or check for illegal dumping. In addition, the Ministry will raise awareness to prevent illegal dumping by sending warning messages, such as placing banners in towns and via announcements during neighborhood meetings.

The Minister of Environment Han Wha-jin stated, “We will cooperate with local governments to quickly treat abandoned waste and thoroughly manage the waste to ensure that no secondary damage will be incurred by citizens living in the vicinity.” She added, “To eliminate the organized illegal dumping, the Ministry will strengthen its efforts to improve regulations, conduct more on-site inspections, and implement more preventive measures.”

Contact: Namgung Hyun, Deputy Director

Waste Resources Management Division / +82-(0)44-201-7364

Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

+82-(0)44-201-6055 / rachelmchun@korea.kr