Controversy over the environmental pollution by Young Poong, the world’s sixth-largest zinc producer, has persisted despite the suspension of operations at its Seokpo refinery for discharging polluted wastewater without authorization.

On Feb. 26, the Seokpo refinery in North Gyeongsang Province ceased operations for 58 days, after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court for violating water conservation laws.

The ruling upheld a 2019 administrative disposition against the refinery for illegally discharging wastewater containing heavy metals, including cadmium, into the Nakdong River.

Lawmakers and environmentalists are now calling for the site’s permanent closure.

Rep. Kang Deuk-gu of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, has urged the Ministry of Environment to revoke the refinery’s environmental permit and establish a task force to oversee its closure and relocation.

“Young Poong’s Seokpo refinery has violated environmental laws more than 120 times over the past decade and has been subjected to over 90 administrative measures, yet it has continued illegal operations, such as discharging wastewater without permission,” Kang stated at a press conference alongside local civic groups on Feb. 26.

Located in the uppermost reaches of the Nakdong River, he says the refinery poses a serious threat to the health of residents who rely on the river for drinking water.

“It seems that Young Poong has no real plans to address the decadeslong environmental pollution or to improve the health of workers and residents,” he said.

Several civil groups, including the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health and the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, have called on the National Assembly and the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government to establish a road map for the refinery’s permanent closure within two months.

“The wastewater discharge from Young Poong’s Seokpo Smelter has resulted in high concentrations of heavy metal contamination at Andong Dam, located 60 kilometers downstream,” said Ahn Sook-hee, an activist with the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements, during a press conference on Feb. 25.

Environmental groups said pollutants from the Seokpo site have significantly contaminated the upper Nakdong River, and cleaning up the sediment at Andong Dam would require an enormous financial investment.

“We must put an end to the situation where the Seokpo plant profits while taxpayers bear the cost of the cleanup,” they said.

The suspension of the Seokpo refinery’s operations is expected to negatively impact Young Poong’s ongoing bid to secure management rights over Korea Zinc, the world’s leading zinc producer.

Young Poong has been engaged in a fierce battle to acquire a controlling stake in Korea Zinc, launching a multibillion-dollar tender offer in partnership with Seoul-based private equity firm MBK Partners.

There is growing debate over whether Young Poong should pursue the acquisition while unresolved environmental issues persist at its own facilities.

Meanwhile, a court recently ruled that the Ministry of Environment was legally justified in imposing a 28.1 billion won ($19.3 million) fine on Young Poong for leaking cadmium into the Nakdong River during the operation of the Seokpo smelter.

On Feb. 27, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Young Poong in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the fines imposed by the Ministry of Environment. The court highlighted that cadmium concentrations in groundwater inside the premises of the Seokpo smelter and in the river water outside significantly decreased after the company reinforced the lower floor of its facility.

“This proves that cadmium was leaking from the smelter until Young Poong took corrective measures,” the court stated.

The Ministry of Environment originally imposed the fine in November 2021, citing cadmium leakage from the Seokpo plant into the Nakdong River between April 2019 and April 2021.

In this case, seven current and former Young Poong executives and employees, including a former CEO, were indicted on charges of violating the Water Environment Conservation Act. However, they were all acquitted in the first trial in November last year.

“Even if a criminal trial results in acquittal, the violation itself does not disappear,” the court ruled. “Unlike criminal penalties, administrative sanctions for legal violations can be imposed even in the absence of intent or negligence by the violators.”

hnpark@heraldcorp.com