Environment 16/12/28 Environment groups welcome cable car ban at Mt. Sorak - Catholic Church plays pivotal role in campaign to stop cableway being built

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Environment groups welcome cable car ban at Mt. Sorak

Catholic Church plays pivotal role in campaign to stop cableway being built

January 13, 2017

South Korean environment groups including Catholic Church agencies have welcomed the government's decision to stop a controversial plan for a cable car on scenic Mt. Sorak.

On Dec. 28 the government's Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) met in Seoul and turned down a proposal that environmental groups had argued would jeopardize the unique ecosystem of the mountain.

Yangyang county of Gangwon Province had proposed constructing a 3.5-km long cableway to boost tourism in the region. A similar proposal was put forward in 1982.

The CHA committee announced that after several field surveys and reports into the impact on animals, plants, the geography and landscape, the construction and operation of a cable car would cause significant harm to the environment.

Environmental groups welcomed the decision with a joint statement noting, "It is a natural and reasonable decision that reflects the principle to preserve natural heritage. With this decision, the government should keep up its efforts to preserve the Natural Reserve of Mt. Sorak and to enlist it as World Heritage."

The Catholic Church played a pivotal role in the campaign to stop the cableway. Last August the Korean Bishops’ Committee for Ecology and Environment released a statement entitled, 'We appeal to cancel the cable car project at Mt. Sorak.'

In the statement, Bishop Peter Kang U-il, president of the committee, showed his opposition to the project by saying, "The cableway project will destroy the beauty of nature in the region."