MIRYANG, South Gyeongsang Province ― Tensions are rising between electricity authorities and residents in Miryang over a plan to build a high-voltage transmission line in the region.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation plans to build a 765-kilovolt transmission line from Ulsan’s Shin-Kori nuclear power plant to the plant’s substation in Changnyeong. But the 8-year-old project is on hold due to residents’ opposition, with 52 out of 161 towers yet to be erected.

“When you poke a bee hive, bees fly out to protect their home. It’s their instinct,” said Lee Nam-woo, 71, who is leading a group of people in their 70s and 80s in Bubuk-myeon, one of five towns in Miryang through which the powerline is to pass.
 
“Electromagnetic waves coming from the towers are going to kill not just us, but also all living creatures around here. We just want to be left alone.”

The power corporation began to plan the project in 2000 to supply power to the substation from Shin-Kori 3, a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts.

The area has become a political and environmental battleground since 2005 as Miryang residents have aggressively protested the project.

“Being exposed to a transmission line carrying 154 kilovolts significantly increases the cancer incidence rate and possibility of having deformed babies. Imagine being exposed to a 765-kilovolt line and tell me if that wouldn’t scare you,” Lee said.

The residents formed a committee in all five towns of Miryang, and for three years ago have taken 24-hour shifts in container boxes at construction sites to prevent authorities from erecting more towers.

The construction, which was initially planned to finish in September 2009, has been repeatedly stopped and then resumed against residents’ vehement protests. Lee Chi-woo, then 74, burned himself to death last year as KEPCO officials hired workers to force the construction through.

The protest served as an opportunity to let their voices be heard, resident Han Ok-soon said, but the residents have been frustrated at their failure to convince the authorities and public.

“Our point is simple. We’re defending our motherland from being developed, ruined and killed. We want no compensation or change of KEPCO’s plan to build in other towns instead,” said Jang Jae-boon, 57, who spent the night at the container box near the 129th tower’s construction site.

Construction resumed again on May 20 but quickly came to halt after about a week, and clashes between residents and authorities resulted in 20 casualties.

The public corporation and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance have persistently tried to persuade the protesters and offered different types of compensation, including advantages to their children who apply for positions in government agencies.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick visited the town several times, and even plans to spend his vacation in Miryang to mediate the situation, but on a previous visit residents refused to let him speak.

A panel of nine experts picked by the residents, KEPCO and the National Assembly was also formed in May to review alternatives suggested by the residents, such as building underground power lines; using the current low-voltage lines without building new ones; and building the towers away from residential areas.

However, the government and the company said that the alternatives proposed by the residents were not feasible and would cost too much.

“The country will see a loss of 4.7 billion won ($4 million) every day, if the construction keeps getting delayed,” a KEPCO official who refused to be identified told The Korea Herald. The official said that the high-voltage line was much more cost-effective than building new gas-fired power stations to supply the electricity.

“While experts are expressing different views on this issue, we’ve confirmed that such facilities cause no carcinogenic effects and other health problems at all,” he said, citing a 2007 World Health Organization report.

The government is in a rush to secure enough energy for the summer peak season after three nuclear power plants were suspended due to substandard parts found this year.

Including plants on hold for regular examination, the suspended plants have a combined generation capacity of 5,266 megawatts. All 23 power plants together supply about 20.7 gigawatts when operated normally, which is 30 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption, according to the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power.

By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)