CLASH CONTINUES OVER NUCLEAR PLANT

[Anchor Lead]

Rival party lawmakers have visited the site of a tritium leak at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. The incident has triggered a political rift, prompting condemnation from local residents. They are accusing politicians of further exacerbating the matter, and are urging a proper investigation.

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Some one hundred residents holding placards block the entrance to their village. They are blocking a bus carrying 13 Democratic Party lawmakers. They came here to tour the power plant and hear the locals' opinions. The residents say the political rift over a tritium leak at Wolsong has seriously damaged the regional economy.

[Soundbite] HONG JUNG-PYO(NAARI VILLAGE CHIEF) : "Who will take responsibility for our region? They say this area is uninhabited. I wish they didn't use our region for political games."

The number of stores in this village has dropped from more than 170 to just 50 in the past five years. There are no more real estate transactions, as the price of land has plunged from around four million won per 3.3 square meters to 1.5 million won. The controversy over the latest tritium leak has resulted in cancellations at restaurants and lodging facilities.

[Soundbite] LEE SHIN-HYE(VENDOR IN NAARI VILLAGE) : "All the reservations for teams of 30 have been cancelled. It never happened before during my 46 years of living here, even when business was slow because of the coronavirus."

Even locals who are asking the government to help them relocate to other regions due to concerns over nuclear radiation do not want the ongoing controversy to snowball into a political scandal. The residents and environmental activists also blocked lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party when they visited the power plant last Thursday. What the residents want is a proper investigation and feasible measures.

[Soundbite] HWANG BUN-HEE(GYEONGJU YANGNAM MIGRATION COMMITTEE) : "What the rival parties should do is join hands to come up with measures on how to help the locals, run the plant properly, and make things safer."

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power President Chung Jae-hoon has vowed to investigate the matter thoroughly after setting up a joint investigation council comprised of officials from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and the Geological Society of Korea.