Cause of Earthquake

[Anchor Lead]

Since the 5.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Pohang, Geyongsangbuk-do province in 2017, there have been opinions that a nearby geothermal power plant might have caused the disaster. On March 20, a government-led investigative team confirmed the speculation.

[Pkg]

The walls of a building collapse and a fence crumbles like a house of cards. This happened when Pohang in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province was hit by a magnitude-5.4 earthquake in 2017. At the time, some academics blamed a nearby geothermal power plant for triggering the quake, which they said did not occur naturally. Geothermal power plants generate electricity using geothermal energy by heating water and creating steam in holes drilled deep in the ground. The experts said that the underground faults must have been affected in the process. After a one-year study, a government-led investigative team consisting of domestic and international academics confirmed the role of the power plant in causing the earthquake.

[Soundbite] Lee Kang-geun(Head of Gov't Investigative Team) : "As a result, its impact reached the epicenter of the main earthquake and built up to cause the earthquake on a fault that was in a state of critical stress."

The investigative team paid particular attention to minor tremors that had preceded the main quake. High-pressure water was poured into drilled holes three times since 2016 to generate geothermal energy. Each time, small tremors occurred in succession in the direction of the southwestern region. The investigative team concluded that the energy that had accumulated in the process triggered the magnitude-5.4 earthquake.

[Soundbite] Shemin Ge(Chairman of Int'l Investigative Committee)

However, the team has made it clear that although water injection at the power plant did contribute to the earthquake, it was not the fundamental cause of the disaster. There is little doubt now that the Pohang earthquake was not triggered by natural causes. However, another dispute is expected over who should take responsibility for it.