Park Kang-soo, the head of Mapo District Office, is urging the final decision to withdraw the establishment of a waste incineration facility in front of the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility. /Courtesy of Seoul Mapo District

Park Kang-su, the head of the Mapo District, stated on the 25th that the agreement to extend the usage period of the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility in Sangam-dong by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and four districts including Jongno, Jung, Yongsan, and Seodaemun is "absolutely unacceptable."

According to the Mapo District, the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility is a waste incineration facility that has been operated under a joint usage agreement since 1997 and 2009 by five districts, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Mapo District. Construction started in November 2001 and was completed in May 2005, commencing operations. It can incinerate 750 tons of waste per day.

Currently, the agreement stipulates that the usage period of the facility is set to "20 years from the start date of facility use," which was scheduled to end on the 31st. In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government promoted the extension of the usage period to "until the facility is closed," and on the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the four districts signed an amended joint usage agreement for the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility. The Mapo District explained that the agreement was carried out without the consent of the Mapo District, which is a party to the agreement.

Previously, the Mapo District proposed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government ▲ a one-year agreement, ▲ joint operation of the incineration facility by Mapo District and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, ▲ a majority composition of Mapo District public officials and members of the Mapo Residents Support Council in the operation committee for the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility, and ▲ an increase in the sanitary waste transfer fee and an upward adjustment of the ratio for residents' support funds. However, these demands were not accepted by the operation committee of the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility.

Park Kang-su, the district head, noted, "An agreement that excludes Mapo District lacks both procedural and substantive legitimacy," and demanded the immediate nullification and official renegotiation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.