Wealth can
damage health
South Korea
n January 1990 South Korea’s Pesident Roh Tae Woo "declared war" on pollution and established a new environment ministry. But since then most of the fighting has been done by angry and frightened citizens, lashing out at the government and business.
Public concern over pollution erupted in several incidents in the past year. In November 1990, some 10,000 residents of Ammyon Island, about 150 km southwest of Seoul, rioted in response to reports that a nuclear-waste dump might be located there. The minister of science, who is responsible for finding a dump site for the country’s growing volume of nuclear waste, was dismissed as a result of the protests.
In February, a large number of people became ill after an affiliate of the Doosan group dumped 30 tons of phenol into the Naktong River, the water source for much of the southeastern part of the country. National protests against pollution flared in the wake of the incident and consumers staged a brief boycott against Doosan products. Roh subsequently dismissed the environment minister,
The government has poured money into water pollution control in response to widespread public concern. Spending on water quality preservation and management will more than double to Won 137 billion (US$187.7 million) this year. The problem is huge, with only 31% of sewage treated before it is dumped into waterways and many of the rivers and streams that run through cities and industrial estates effectively dead.
Most South Koreans, while remaining publicly passive about pollution, try to protect themselves against effects. In doing so, they also have to contend with a government that often pushes whimsical solutions to pressing environmental problems. One result of the Doosan contamination was a bitter controversy over whether South Koreans should be allowed to buy bottled water. The government has long prohibited its sale on the basis that social tensions would be inflamed if bottled water were available but only to those who could afford it.
In another example of their curious sense of priorities, the authorities earlier this year banned shampoo from bath houses in the wake of growing concern about water pollution. This type of measure, analysts say, is typical of the way the government is trying to clean up the environment in what is quickly becoming one of Asia’s most polluted countries.
More practically, the legislative National Assembly overhauled the country’s environmental laws in August 1990 and more money is going into anti-pollution efforts. But the Environment Ministry, with its small and inexperienced staff and limited administrative jurisdiction, is very much a junior player in a government dominated by growth-first ministries. An example of this attitude was evident when the ministry recently proposed that recycling should be encouraged, a suggestion firmly resisted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Air pollution is also a serious and visible problem. A sulphurous haze darkens the skies of Seoul and many of the country’s other industrial areas on most days, though the Environment Ministry clairns the situation has improved slightly. To a casual observer, however, the situation appears to be visibly worsening.
The government is trying to take some steps to reduce sulphur dioxide concentrations. Major new buildings must now use liquefied natural gas rather than oil in an effort to cut pollution, while the government has ordered refineries to complete de-sulphurisation facilities by 1993.
A huge increase in vehicles, particularly private cars, has also contributed to pollution. The number of motor vehicles in South Korea leaped from 530,000 in 1980 to 3.1 million in 1990, and are expected to reach around 7 million by 1995. The government strengthened emission control standards in 1987 and new car models must now be fitted with catalytic converters.
-Mark Clifford in Seoul
Source : Far Eastern Network, 19 Sept, 1991
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