Sacheon-Jinju regional waste incinerator dispute among topics discussed; cooperation sought on unified power company headquarters bid

Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il meets South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su at the provincial government office on June 12 to present key proposals for completing the Gyeongnam Jinju Innovation City and promoting shared development in western South Gyeongsang Province. [Jinju City]
Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il meets South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su at the provincial government office on June 12 to present key proposals for completing the Gyeongnam Jinju Innovation City and promoting shared development in western South Gyeongsang Province. [Jinju City]

Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il met South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su to request the province's active support and mediation on key regional issues, including a plan to regionalize household waste incineration facilities shared between Jinju and Sacheon and efforts to attract the unified headquarters of five state-owned power companies to the city.

According to Jinju City, Mayor Jo met Governor Park at the provincial government office on June 12 to deliver proposals aimed at completing the Gyeongnam Jinju Innovation City and fostering shared development across western South Gyeongsang Province. The meeting was arranged at Jo's request to find a solution to the Sacheon-Jinju household and biotech waste incineration facility regionalization project, which has emerged as a pressing issue for both cities.

Jinju and Sacheon are currently in talks over a plan to exchange and process household and biotech waste on an equal-volume, equal-value basis. The two cities have struggled to make progress in working-level negotiations, however, due to persistent differences over the specific terms and conditions of the arrangement.

"Since Sacheon has recently expressed its willingness to cooperate, I will first meet with the Sacheon mayor to hold concrete discussions," Jo said. "If the two cities are ultimately unable to reach an agreement on their own, we plan to formally request mediation from South Gyeongsang Province."

Sacheon's mayor held a press conference on June 8 to address the regional incinerator issue, and Jo followed with his own press conference on June 11, pledging to actively work toward a solution.

Jo also stressed the need to bring the unified headquarters of five state-owned power companies — currently under discussion at the government level — to the Gyeongnam Jinju Innovation City. He highlighted the locational advantages and existing infrastructure of Korea South-East Power, which is already headquartered in Jinju, and pointed to ample vacant space at its headquarters building that could accommodate a consolidated office.

Governor Park agreed on the importance of attracting the unified headquarters to Jinju. South Gyeongsang Province, Jinju City and Korea South-East Power signed a related agreement in April and have since been jointly pursuing the bid.

Alongside this, Jo asked for provincial support to elevate "Wolasan Suksokui Jinju" (Jinju in Wolasan Forest) — officially registered as a South Gyeongsang Province local garden in April — to national garden status by 2030. The forest park has drawn more than 2 million cumulative visitors and has established itself as one of the province's leading forest recreation and tourism facilities, attracting 600,000 visitors last year alone.

Governor Park said he would give positive consideration to the national garden designation as part of broader efforts to strengthen the province's tourism competitiveness and promote forest tourism.

"With an open mind, I will actively cooperate with Sacheon to find solutions to shared challenges — including fostering the aerospace industry, building a bypass on National Route 33 between Jinju and Sacheon, and establishing a regional waste incinerator," Jo said. "I will also work closely with South Gyeongsang Province for the shared development of western South Gyeongsang."


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