Provincial Councilor Lee Hak-su: "Must Immediately Withdraw Offshore Solar Farm Plan Driving a Stake Into the Heart of Pyeongtaek Port"

[News S=Kim Jong-sik Senior Reporter] A call to withdraw a mega-scale offshore solar farm project threatening Pyeongtaek Port's future vision has emerged from the Gyeonggi Provincial Council.

Lee Hak-su (People Power Party, Pyeongtaek District 5), member of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, strongly criticized the mega-scale offshore solar farm project being promoted by Gyeonggi Province at Pyeongtaek Port during his five-minute free speech at the 5th plenary session of the 387th regular session held on the 26th, urging its immediate withdrawal.

Councilor Lee Hak-su stated, "Pyeongtaek Port is Gyeonggi Province's only international trade port and a key hub for Northeast Asia's logistics and tourism," and pointed out, "The mega-scale offshore solar farm project that Gyeonggi Province is pursuing is a misguided policy that threatens the very existence of Pyeongtaek Port."

Last November, Gyeonggi Province officially proposed to the government the construction of a 500MW-class offshore solar farm—the largest in the nation—on approximately 7.27 million square meters (approximately 2.2 million pyeong) of water surface at the planned dredged soil disposal site of Pyeongtaek Port. Councilor Lee expressed strong concerns about this, saying it is "an act of closing Pyeongtaek Port's growth plate and reducing it to a mere energy production factory."

Councilor Lee cited specific reasons for opposing the project, including △absence of technical safety due to risks of floating structure damage and vessel collisions during severe weather such as typhoons △disregarding economic viability that will lead to future shortages of logistics and manufacturing land, thereby crippling port functions △destruction of underwater ecosystems due to sunlight blockage and damage to marine leisure and tourism vision.

He also emphasized that the functions of ports, a critical national infrastructure, and fishermen's right to survival must not be sacrificed for the goal of achieving RE100. He stated that only a fundamental review of the project plan from the ground up and complete abandonment—not merely improvements or downsizing—can protect Pyeongtaek Port's future.

Councilor Lee Hak-su said, "Pyeongtaek Port is not an experimental subject, and must not become a bad form of project where profits are taken by some operators while risks are borne by residents," and added, "I strongly urge Governor Kim Dong-yeon to take resolute action so that Pyeongtaek Port can be fully preserved as a global logistics and tourism hub, not a solar power plant."