Will the Soil Contamination Cleanup of Incheon Songdo Theme Park Site, Unresolved for 7 Years, Be Addressed?

[Financial News Incheon=Han Gap-su Reporter] It seems that a solution will be provided for the soil contamination cleanup at the Incheon Songdo Theme Park site, which has been left unresolved for 7 years.
Representative Park Chan-dae (acting leader of the Democratic Party and floor leader) announced on the 29th that he has proposed an amendment to the 'Soil Environment Conservation Act' to address the long-neglected soil contamination issue and strengthen the effectiveness of soil cleanup obligations.
This amendment includes the introduction of a penalty for non-compliance with soil cleanup orders to ensure the effectiveness of such orders.
BooYoung Housing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as BooYoung) has received a total of four soil cleanup orders from the Yeonsu District Office for the Songdo Amusement Park development site at 911 Dongchun-dong, Yeonsu-gu, in 2018 (1st), 2021 (2nd), 2023 (3rd), and 2025 (4th), but has not commenced cleanup work even after 7 years.
As a result, the Supreme Court confirmed a guilty verdict with a fine of 10 million won for violating the first order in October last year.
However, BooYoung, the party responsible for cleanup, ignored even the fourth cleanup order issued in March this year and did not submit a cleanup plan.
Representative Park Chan-dae has prepared a system to prevent such cases by amending the Soil Environment Conservation Act to hold responsible parties legally accountable.
The core of the amendment proposed by Representative Park is to establish a legal basis for imposing a penalty on companies that do not comply with cleanup orders.
The amendment allows for the imposition of a penalty of up to 25% of the cleanup cost, with repeated penalties for non-compliance.
Additionally, it focuses on promoting voluntary participation and enhancing effectiveness by notifying the responsible party 30 days in advance before imposing the penalty and stopping the penalty collection upon completion of the cleanup.
Representative Park Chan-dae said, “I hope the Songdo Theme Park development project, which has been halted due to soil contamination issues, will be normalized, solving the long-standing wish of the old city center of Yeonsu-gu and revitalizing the local economy.”
kapsoo@fnnews.com Han Gap-su Reporter