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Photo = Youngpoong |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Youngpoong's Seokpo Smelter is set to halt operations for an additional 10 days due to violations of environmental facility regulations. This follows a 58-day suspension, further extending the shutdown of the plant.
On Tuesday, Youngpoong announced that the smelter will cease operations from April 25 to May 4 as part of an administrative penalty for violating environmental facility laws. The new suspension will take effect immediately after the 58-day suspension—which began on February 26—ends on April 24.
The suspension stems from a routine inspection conducted by the Daegu Regional Environmental Office in November last year, which uncovered multiple violations in the smelter’s operations. Officials found that seven sulfuric acid gas detectors had their alarm functions switched off during operations, and one detector had a malfunctioning circuit board that prevented it from displaying gas levels properly.
Currently, Youngpoong's Seokpo Smelter is already serving a 58-day suspension for violating the Water Environment Conservation Act. This penalty follows a Supreme Court ruling confirming a 2019 violation, nearly five years and eight months after the offense was initially discovered.
Youngpoong was found guilty of developing unauthorized wells and illegally discharging wastewater from a settling pond into a secondary containment wall and a rainwater storage facility instead of the designated final discharge point.
Further legal troubles continue for Youngpoong.
Just last month, the Seoul Administrative Court dismissed the company’s lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment, which sought to overturn a 28.1 billion KRW (approximately $21 million) fine imposed for pollution violations. The court ruled that Youngpoong likely neglected to prevent cadmium-contaminated water from flowing into the Nakdong River, even after being aware of the issue.
The court stated, “It is acknowledged that cadmium was discharged into the Nakdong River from the Seokpo Smelter between April 2019 and April 2021.”
Industry experts predict that, considering the time required to resume full operations, the Seokpo Smelter could face around four months of operational disruption.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
