Gimcheon city in North Gyeongsang Province expressed deep regret Thursday after the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy announced it would halt the Gamcheon Dam construction project following a review of new dam proposals.
The Gamcheon Dam project had been listed as a climate-response dam candidate under the government's river basin water resources management plan. Following a policy announcement by the then-Ministry of Environment in September 2025, it was among 14 new dam sites selected for a final decision through conceptual planning and public deliberation.
The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy subsequently formed a public deliberation committee to discuss the need for the dam, but the latest announcement confirmed the project's permanent suspension.
The city said the ministry appeared to have concluded that utilizing the nearby Gimcheon Buhang Dam — a multipurpose dam — in combination with river improvement works would be more effective than building the Gamcheon Dam.
Gimcheon, however, maintains that even with the Gimcheon Buhang Dam in use, its flood-control capacity has limits, and that raising levees along the urban stretch is not realistically feasible given how closely the river corridor runs through the old city center.
The city warned that if damage occurs as a result of halting the Gamcheon Dam project, the burden will fall entirely on Gimcheon and its residents.
"Regardless of the dam suspension, I will focus all administrative resources on making Gimcheon safe from the climate crisis," Gimcheon Mayor Bae Nak-ho said. "I will strongly demand that the government carry out river improvement and maintenance work, including dam construction."
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