Ministry of Environment Violated Law to Execute Four Major Rivers Project Promotional Spending

Rep. Lee Chan-yeol (Democratic Party, Suwon Jangan District) claimed on the 23rd during a plenary session of the Environment and Labor Committee that the Ministry of Environment diverted budgets in violation of related laws to execute promotional spending for the Four Major Rivers project.

Rep. Lee pointed out problems in the execution of non-point pollution reduction project costs during questioning regarding the Ministry of Environment's 2009 fiscal year settlement.

Rep. Lee Chan-yeol stated that "the Ministry of Environment ignored the National Finance Act and diverted 1.3 billion won from livestock manure public treatment facility installation costs and 350 million won from ecological stream restoration project costs for Saemangeum promotion-related consulting projects to promote the Four Major Rivers project, which has no connection to non-point pollution sources."

Related to this, Article 46 of the National Finance Act specifies that a comprehensive review must be conducted to determine whether there is similarity between projects, whether there is an urgent need to use funds for disaster response measures, and whether costs are for institutional operations.

According to Rep. Lee Chan-yeol, the Ministry of Environment used 100 million won in promotional costs allocated for non-point pollution reduction as follows: 10 million won for distribution of "Non-point Pollution Facility Installation and Operation Manual," 40 million won for the "Restoration of Natural Streams Campaign," and 50 million won for "Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Series."

In response, Rep. Lee Chan-yeol pointed out that "the 'Restoration of Natural Streams Campaign' and 'Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Series' have no direct connection to non-point pollution reduction projects," adding that "rather, they should be considered to have direct relevance to ecological stream restoration projects."

Additionally, he raised concerns about the promotional format, stating, "The Ministry of Environment paid 50 million won to a major central media outlet last year for the 'Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Series' articles, but the articles were presented in a format of direct reporting by journalists rather than as public service announcements."

Rep. Lee emphasized, "The relevant articles mislead readers into believing that the results of ecological stream restoration efforts are objective reporting by the media," and "this is inappropriate as a promotional format executed with government budget."

Along with this, Rep. Lee Chan-yeol stated, "With the promotion of the Four Major Rivers project, significant budget is expected to be invested in point pollution source facilities through 2012, which appears to be budget waste that does not consider that non-point pollution sources will increasingly have a significant impact on river water quality."

He noted, "Research results show that the non-point pollution load will reach 65-70 percent by 2015," and emphasized, "Going forward, the management budget for non-point pollution sources should be increased, and management projects should be shifted to address high-concentration, heavy metal, and non-biodegradable substances that could flow in from urban areas."