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| A flood is caused by the loss of a part of the Nakdong River banks near Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
The controversial Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, which saw 16 barrages built along Korea's four major rivers, has returned to the spotlight as heavy rainfall continues to ravage the country.
The 16 barrages ― ranging from four to 17 meters high ― were built on the Nakdong, Han, Youngsan and Geum rivers under Lee Myung-bak's 2008-13 administration.
Due to recent rainstorms, banks on the Nakdong and Seomjin rivers burst open, damaging nearby crops and homes.
Current vocal supporters of the four rivers project, mostly politicians of the conservative United Future Party (UFP), claimed the recent weather conditions proved the project's success.
Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the UFP told a local media outlet "My constituents have been asking me 'What would have happened without a barrage?' I can't deny the project's effectiveness in preventing floods. But this administration has vowed to destroy them and I want to ask if its members have common sense." Rep. Chung, represents Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, and had worked in Cheong Wa Dae with former President Lee Myung-bak. Rep. Chung didn't mention the situation around the Nakdong River.
The supporters even said flooding of the Seomjin River could have been averted if it had been included in the controversial refurbishment scheme. There are no barrages installed along the Seomjin River.
However, critics of the project, mostly environmental advocates and scholars, renewed their criticism against former President Lee, saying the floods proved the project a total failure.
"Because of the barrage, the water in the river couldn't move as fast which caused pressure and led the bank to burst," said Lee Joon-ku, an honorary professor from Seoul National University, referring to the incident in the Nakdong River. Only 250 meters down from the site was a barrage.
The restoration project was undertaken between 2009 and 2011 by former President Lee, and cost 22 trillion won in total. The project had two goals: to prevent floods and secure water resources, which it aimed to achieve in part by removing sand from the riverbeds.
At the end of the project in 2011, the Lee administration had a plan to spend an additional 4 trillion won to do the same on tributaries to the main five rivers, but had to halt it facing strong criticism from critics, even from Lee supporters.
The controversy continued under the 2013-17 Park Geun-hye administration which ordered its Prime Minister's Office to review the project, finding it could be effective in flood prevention. However, the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea which conducted an independent review found the proposed measures would have zero effectiveness.
Incumbent President Moon Jae-in has been pushing to remove the barrages. On Monday, Moon said, "Now is the time to evaluate how much the barrages on the four rivers contribute to flood prevention."
