Korean citizens and activists file constitutional appeal on solar distancing regulations, calling for actual change after Asia’s first climate lawsuit win

Image caption: Groups outside South Korean Constitutional Court with banner “근거 없는 태양광 이격거리 규제 방치한 산업통상자원부, 이제는 해결하라!” MOTIE ignored unfounded solar separation distance regulations, fix it now! September 24th, 2024 (Image credit: SFOC)

September 24, 2024 (SEOUL) Following the momentum of August’s monumental climate litigation win, the first of its kind in Asia, a group of 15 climate activists, comprised of citizens and members from the Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), filed a constitutional appeal for the South Korean Government. The Government is being challenged for failing to fulfill its legislative duty to abolish the obstructive solar separation distance regulations that neglect the dangers of the climate crisis.

“Solar power is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas without emitting harmful substances. However, local governments are limiting the response to the climate crisis by taking away 70% of the potential solar market in South Korea without any scientific evidence. The central government is turning a blind eye to these irrational regulations”, said Jaebin Choe, policy analyst at SFOC.

A separation distance regulation is a development permit criterion set by the local government through an ordinance. This allows solar power facilities to be installed within a radius of at least 100 meters and up to 1,000 meters from roads and residences. In other countries, such regulations only exist for hazardous facilities like waste treatment facilities.

Although the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) has made some efforts to revise national-level solar separation distance regulations in recent years, the unbinding nature of these policies has led to a proliferation of localized regulations and fails to protect people from the climate crisis. Currently, 129 out of 228 local governments have local regulations in place. Notably, Jinju City and Sanju City strengthened the separation distance between houses and roads. This is why early last month, a constitutional appeal was filed against Jinju City, although the petitioner has been dismissed. Thus, MOTIE must revise the regulations and introduce binding policies to hold local governments accountable to national-level standards.

While treating renewable energy facilities as equivalent to hazardous facilities would come as a surprise in most countries, and rather problematic, a similar barrier is found in the neighboring country, Japan. A report by the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) revealed that Japan has seen a trend of local governments enacting ordinances restricting the installation of renewable energy generation facilities in the name of preserving the environment. In 2017, 39 local governments had regulations, which increased to 245 in May 2023, accounting for 13% of the total local governments. Out of these, 139 solely target solar PV installations. However, it is important to note that while Japan’s regulations restrict solar installations to specific areas, the Korean regulations block installations indiscriminately.

Last month, climate litigation in Korea ruled Article 8.1 unconstitutional for violating basic rights by not setting any targets from 2031 to 2049. Based on the ruling, “the legislative duty to expand solar penetration is a constitutional duty. However, MOTIE has not taken any legislative measures for a considerable period, even though they are aware that local governments' indiscriminate regulation of solar separation distancing is causing problems for solar energy deployment”, said Sihyun Song, lawyer at Jung Jin Law Firm, who represented the petitioners in the constitutional appeal.

Representative Sohee Kim of the People's Power and Representative Soyoung Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed a bill to abolish the regulation at the end of August and June this year, respectively. While the ruling and opposing parties have a consensus, the central government has not responded.

Image caption: Activist dressed up as a grasshopper, September 24th, 2024 (Image credit: SFOC)

Highlighting the government’s failure to meet its legislative obligation, citizens and activists performed an action in front of South Korea’s Constitutional Court, portraying the MOTIE as a grasshopper (reference to “The Ants and the Grasshopper” from Aesop’s Fables, scrutinizing the grasshopper’s inaction).

According to Ember, South Korea falls below the G20 average in terms of renewable share of electricity generation in 2023, ranking 19th out of 20 countries. To keep the momentum following the August climate litigation ruling and inspire climate action in neighboring countries, the South Korean government must act to revise inhibiting policies that hinder renewable energy deployment, including the solar distancing regulations.

Photos from the press conference can be accessed here (Image credit: SFOC).

ENDS. 

Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) is an independent nonprofit organization that works to accelerate global greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy transition. SFOC leverages research, litigation, community organizing, and strategic communications to deliver practical climate solutions and build movements for change.  

For media inquiries, please reach out to Yi Hyun Kim, Communications Officer, at yihyun.kim@forourclimate.org.