Hapcheon's Bid for Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant Gains Momentum... County Officials Lend Support

Officials Pledge Support at Capacity-Building Workshop as Residents and Overseas Koreans Join the Campaign
County Cites Potential to Share Infrastructure with the Dumusan Plant Under Construction
Key Challenges Include Securing Public Acceptance and Assessing the Project's Economic Feasibility

Hapcheon County in South Gyeongsang Province is working to build community support for the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant, following information sessions for residents and a rally in support of the project by overseas Korean residents, and has now held a pledge event involving county officials.

Hapcheon County said on November 7 that county officials pledged their support for attracting the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant during the 2026 Hapcheon County Officials Capacity-Building Workshop, held at Hwangmaesan and the Gaho-myeon Gymnasium.

[Photo provided by Hapcheon County] Hapcheon County Governor Kim Yuncheol and county officials pose for a commemorative photo after pledging to attract the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Power Plant at the "2026 Hapcheon County Officials Capacity-Building Workshop," held at Hwangmaesan Mountain and the gymnasium in Gahoe-myeon.

The workshop was organized to strengthen civil servants' job skills and improve communication within the organization. It also included a program to share the need to attract the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant.

Attending officials discussed the potential effects of attracting the pumped-storage hydropower plant on the local economy and energy industry, and recognized the need for administrative cooperation to advance the project.

Hapcheon County is pursuing efforts to attract the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant, viewing it as a key project for securing a new growth engine for the region.

Previously, the county held information sessions in villages and organized tours for residents to gather opinions from communities in the proposed project area. It has also continued efforts to explain the need for the project, including by holding a rally in support of it with overseas Korean residents.

The pledge event involving county officials is significant because it expanded the campaign beyond its previous focus on residents and overseas Korean residents to include the public sector.

Hapcheon County's main rationale for attracting the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant is the potential to link it with the Dumusan Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant, which is currently under construction.

The county expects that if the two plants share some infrastructure, they could reduce the cost of installing new facilities and improve construction and operational efficiency.

However, the scope for actually sharing facilities and the resulting cost savings will need to be assessed through detailed technical reviews and project planning.

Pumped-storage hydropower works by pumping water to an upper reservoir when electricity demand is low or surplus electricity is available, then releasing the stored water into a lower reservoir to generate electricity when demand rises.

It can be used as an energy storage method to offset fluctuations in renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, and improve the stability of electricity supply and demand.

Hapcheon County expects that attracting the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant would create local jobs and increase related economic activity during the construction and operation of the facility.

However, the actual effects on the local economy could vary depending on factors such as the plant's capacity, total project cost, construction period, and the scale of participation by local businesses.

As the project moves forward, it will also be necessary to comprehensively assess public acceptance, environmental impacts, site suitability, and economic feasibility.

In particular, a pumped-storage hydropower plant requires large-scale power generation facilities and related infrastructure, including reservoirs. A key challenge will be to fully gather the opinions of residents in the proposed project area and carefully assess the effects on the environment and living conditions.

Hapcheon County Governor Kim Yoon-cheol said, "This workshop strengthened our employees' job skills and confirmed the public sector's commitment to attracting the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant. We will continue our efforts to attract the plant through cooperation among county residents, overseas Korean residents, and public officials."

Meanwhile, Hapcheon County plans to continue related efforts to attract the Odo Mountain Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant, including gathering residents' opinions and consulting with relevant organizations.

To improve the project's prospects, objective assessments will be needed of public acceptance, the benefits of linking its facilities with the Dumusan plant, and the project's economic feasibility.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.