[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-wook ] The government announced it would seek a solution to the conflict over transmission lines intended to supply power to the Seoul metropolitan area, suspending the site selection process for a month to engage in consultations with local communities and civil society. However, the process effectively concluded with the parties merely confirming their differing positions.
Although discussions on site selection have resumed for each region and project, the conflict structure—in which #KoreaElectricPower (KEPCO) bears the entire burden of securing local and resident acceptance—has returned to square one. Consequently, the crisis of disruptions to the Seoul metropolitan area’s power supply due to delays in the power grid project is expected to continue.
According to power authorities, local governments, and civil society groups on the 26th, site selection committees for transmission lines across the country have begun resuming their work one after another following a one-month suspension.
On the 19th, the 12th meeting of the site selection committee for the Sin-Gyeoryong–Buk-Cheonan transmission line—designed to supply power to the Seoul metropolitan area, including the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster—was held to discuss the final route for the 62-kilometer line. It is reported that site selection committees for other projects are also working to resume their previously suspended meetings.
The government had suspended the activities of all national power grid site selection committees for one month, announcing plans to develop institutional reforms to enhance the fairness and transparency of the site selection process, and began consultations with local and civil society groups. However, as no common ground was ultimately reached, project-specific consultations have resumed from scratch.
Kim Seong-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy, and Environment, held two roundtable discussions with representatives of the anti-power-grid construction committee on April 10 and May 8 and spent a month developing institutional reform measures; however, the process has only served to highlight the differences in position between the government and civil society. In a statement released on the 18th, the “National Action to Reexamine the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex and Oppose Ultra-High-Voltage Transmission Towers” claimed that the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment is focusing solely on conflict management to push forward with existing projects, effectively rejecting demands from local and civil society groups to establish a social dialogue body to reexamine the current power grid plans.
While the Ministry of Climate Change stated that it plans to implement procedures allowing experts and civic groups to participate in the process of developing future power grid plans, it effectively rejected the demand to establish a social dialogue body—which would require a comprehensive review of all currently ongoing power grid projects—citing reasons such as procedural legitimacy, the stability of the national power supply, and social costs.
Consequently, the current structure—in which KEPCO, the sole operator of power grid projects, shoulders the burden of regional conflicts while pushing forward with individual projects—is set to continue for the time being.
The Site Selection Committee for the Sin-Gyeoryong–North Cheonan transmission line, which resumed its work on the 19th, will see its operational period—which lasts up to one and a half years—end on the 25th, leaving KEPCO to ultimately decide on the route. KEPCO plans to finalize the transmission line route within six months, begin construction in 2028, and complete the project in 2031; however, given past precedents of resident opposition and resulting delays in local government permits, there are significant concerns about project delays.
Concerns about disruptions to the power supply in the Seoul Metropolitan Area—including the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster—are also mounting. Across the Chungcheong and Honam regions, there is strong opposition to projects to expand the power grid for sending electricity to the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Furthermore, the expansion project for the Dongseoul Substation—which serves as the terminus of the East Coast–Seoul Metropolitan Area transmission line designed to transmit power generated in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces to the Seoul Metropolitan Area—has been delayed by more than two years from its original start date in the first half of 2024 due to resident opposition.
Authorities plan to continue efforts to分散 electricity demand—such as by introducing region-specific electricity rate plans—while maintaining communication with local communities and civil society to move forward with existing power grid projects in the Seoul metropolitan area.
An official from the Ministry of Climate Change stated, “We have proposed a third round of discussions with the National Action Group,” adding, “We will continue our efforts to reach an agreement while improving systems to enhance community acceptance.”
Professor Yoo Seung-hoon of the Department of Future Energy Convergence at Seoul National University of Science and Technology said, “Delays in building the transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to support high-tech industrial complexes, such as the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, could lead to serious power supply bottlenecks in the future,” adding, “For areas through which the power grid passes, it is necessary to establish a system of mid- to long-term benefits that residents can tangibly feel—such as differential electricity rates or the creation of regional funds—rather than merely providing one-time compensation.”
