The Mapo District of Seoul announced that it is reviewing legal actions, including a confirmation lawsuit for invalidation and a request for a stay of effectiveness regarding the joint use agreement for the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility recently signed with four autonomous districts, including Jongno, Jung, Yongsan, and Seodaemun.
Park Kang-soo, the head of the Mapo District Office, held a press conference in front of the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility (waste incineration plant) in Sangam-dong on the 9th and stated, "Mapo District will mobilize all means, including legal actions, to indefinitely extend the operation of the incineration plant and prevent the construction of an additional incineration plant in cooperation with the residents."
In Seoul, there are waste incineration plants in four locations: Sangam-dong in Mapo District, Sangye-dong in Nowon District, Ilwon-dong in Gangnam District, and Mokdong in Yangcheon District. Nearby municipalities have signed joint use agreements to process waste at the closest incineration plants. The joint use agreement for the Mapo District incineration plant was set to end in late May, marking 20 years since operations began, but the Seoul city government and the four autonomous districts signed a revised agreement last month to extend the deadline to 'when the facility is closed.' Mapo District is protesting that the extension of the agreement is invalid.
The district head said, "The signing of the revised joint use agreement for the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility must be immediately invalidated," adding, "We must end the cycle of misfortune that sacrifices only Mapo District under the pretext of serving the whole of Seoul."
As the incineration plant began operations, Jongno, Jung, Yongsan, and Seodaemun Districts paid a total of 20.2 billion won to Mapo District. In response, the district head questioned, "If I were to provide 20 billion won, which district would willingly raise its hand to say they would install a large-scale incineration plant?" adding, "I feel like saying to move the incineration plant to another region and return the 20 billion won."
However, Mapo District is not considering measures to block the entry of waste sent by other autonomous districts to the incineration plant. Nonetheless, the district head noted, "Through screening inspections, we can restrict the entry of inappropriate waste."
The Mapo incineration plant is owned by Seoul City, which also operates it. However, the district head stated, "Since the facility is located within the administrative district of Mapo, the primary administrative authority lies with Mapo District," asserting, "(The revised joint use agreement) is akin to a broker pretending to be the owner, entering into lease contracts with tenants while excluding the actual owner."
Mapo District is also in conflict with Seoul City over plans for a new incineration plant. Seoul City selected a site next to the existing incineration plant in Sangam-dong as the location for a new metropolitan resource recovery facility. The district head stated, "As a result of directly tearing open waste bags and sorting them in Mapo District, an average of 65% of the waste was recyclable," adding, "If waste is properly sorted, the construction of an additional incineration plant is unnecessary."