Oceans ministry sets fines for unrecovered public waters

South Korea's oceans ministry said it will impose fines of up to 10 million won ($7,353) on anyone who fails to carry out an order to restore public waters, under a revised enforcement rule that took effect the same day.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the rule sets the forms and procedures for the enforcement charge created by an amendment to the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act, which took effect on Sept. 17. The charge can be levied repeatedly, up to twice a year, until the restoration obligation is fulfilled.

The revised rule also introduces new forms for advance notice of an enforcement charge, for the charge notice itself and for a ledger recording the imposition and collection of charges.

"With this revision of the enforcement decree, restoration costs will be secured in advance from the stage at which public waters are used, and enforcement charges can be imposed, which is expected to further strengthen the accountability of public waters management and the effectiveness of administration," said Hwang Jun-seong, director of marine environment policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "We will continue to improve the management system so that the public nature of public waters is secured and order in their use is established."

The revision follows last year's amendment to the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act and a revision of its enforcement decree, which cleared a Cabinet meeting on Sept. 8.