Pocheon City's defeat over the disposition of approval for the use of coal power plants

Pocheon City lost after delaying the disposal of approval for the use of coal-fired power plants.

Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province, lost an administrative suit after failing to approve the use of a coal-fired power plant (group energy facility) building in the Jangja Industrial Complex.

Pocheon City announced on the 13th that GS Pocheon Green Energy Co., a coal power plant operator, lost the first trial of the "Law for Verification of Violations of Acts" that demanded the city to dispose of whether it approved the use of the building.

The first administration of the Uijeongbu District Court ruled that it was illegal for Pocheon City to not dispose of any application for approval for the use of the power plant building by the operator.

Accordingly, Pocheon City should accept the results of the trial and approve or suspend the use of the power plant building or appeal the case.

Pocheon City says it will carefully review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the case.

After reviewing the ruling, the court will decide whether to appeal the case after conducting the prosecution and consulting lawyers, a Pocheon city official said.

Earlier, the power plant filed an administrative suit two months later after Pocheon City failed to approve the use of the facility, even though it met legal requirements such as implementing supplementary requirements after submitting an application for approval for the use of the facility in April last year.

Pocheon Thermal Power Plant was approved in October 2015 and built at a cost of 570 billion won at Jangja Industrial Complex in Sinbuk-myeon. It is a facility that produces 550 tons of heat per hour and 169.9mW of electricity with bituminous coal as fuel.

It began test operation in April 2018 and began commercial operation in October last year.

In particular, the facility has been at odds since the beginning of its construction, with residents who are concerned about side effects such as environmental damage, undermining the city's aesthetic appearance, and falling land prices forming a group meeting to demand the cancellation of the permit.

[Reporter Woo Young-sik]