Ambitious Rivers Project Meets a Sea of Opposition

By CHOE SANG-HUN

Published: December 13, 2009

NAJU, South Korea — Last month, on a gravelly embankment of the Youngsan River here, President Lee Myung-bak broke ground on a $19.2 billion public works project to remake the country’s four longest rivers, an ambitious and controversial undertaking that has spurred a national debate over what constitutes green development.

Mr. Lee says the project will generate thousands of jobs, improve water supply and quality, and prevent flooding, while providing a model for environmentally sound development.

But critics call it a political boondoggle, say it will be an environmental disaster and have sued to stop it. More South Koreans oppose the project than support it. And opponents charge that it is simply a repackaging of Mr. Lee’s earlier dream of linking the Han and Nakdong Rivers to create a “Grand Korean Waterway” across the nation, a proposal he abandoned in the face of widespread opposition.

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A farmer, looked at a billboard that showed a new weir to built on the Youngsan River as part of President Lee Myung-bak's controversial "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/world/asia/14korea.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=south%20korea&st=cse