Cheonseong Tunnel Work Will Continue

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of continuing construction on the Wonhyo Tunnel which passes through Mt. Cheonseong on the Gyeongbu Express Line for high-speed trains. This ruling was made two years and eight months since a provisional injunction (called the “salamander case”) was applied requesting a halt to the construction. This 13.2-kilometer long tunnel passes through Mt. Cheonseong and Mt. Jeongjok connecting Yangsan City and Ulsan in South Gyeongsang Province.

The injunction, filed by Buddhist temples at Mt. Cheonseong and an environmental group called “Salamander’s Friends” (headed by Buddhist nun Jiyul) against Korea Rail Network Authority in charge of the construction was rejected on June 2.

The court ruled that “as of now, the tunneling does not seem to seriously damage the environment.”

“The government had conducted an intense study with experts on the environmental impact since environmental groups lodged arguments that the tunneling will damage the environment, and over stability concerns because geological characteristics were not reflected. The design and construction method were revised to reflect the characteristics,” said the court.

However, the court added, “The railway company has the responsibility to protect environmental rights as ensured by the constitution, and if new circumstances which were not considered in the environmental evaluation arise, another evaluation must be conducted, or measures to prevent environmental damages must be made.”

Those who filed an injunction protested that the tunnel construction was destroying the damp lands where the salamanders lived, and applied the injunction on October 2003. After being rejected in the first and second hearings on April and December 2004, respectively, it was appealed to the Supreme Court.

During this course, Jiyul staged a fast three times, catching the interest of society, and due to the resistance of environmental groups, the construction was suspended for three months in 2004 and another three last year.

needjung@donga.com