Gov`t seeks to offer compensation to Miryang residents

The ruling Saenuri Party and the government held at a consultative meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday morning and reached an agreement to enact a law during the parliamentary session in June. The law aims to resolve residents’ protest rallies against constructing power transmission lines in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province.

Soon after the meeting, Rep. Yeo Sang-gyu of the Saenuri Party, who is a member of the parliamentary Trade, Industry, and Energy Committee, told a media briefing, “We have agreed to deliberate a bill to expand compensation and assistance for residents in areas around power transmission and transformation facilities as top priority during the extraordinary parliamentary session in June.” On the scale of budget, the lawmaker said, “The government will provide compensation that would be satisfactory to residents through discussions with them.”

The ruling party and the government decided to continue the project to construct power transmission towers and lines in Miryang because a further delay of the project will aggravate power shortages and render impossible normal operation of Shin-Kori nuclear power plant No. 3, whose commercial operation will start at year’s end. Considering fairness issues among other regions as well as massive costs and construction period, they also decided not to seek burial of the power lines underground.