South Korean Farmers Sue State Utility in Climate Lawsuit

South Korea is witnessing its first climate lawsuit, with farmers suing the nation's largest electric utility for climate change-related crop losses.

Transcript

00:00Ma Yong-ung is tending to his apple orchard,

00:03something the 55-year-old has been doing since he inherited his family's business.

00:07But more recently, his apples have been suffering.

00:14It rained continuously from September 10th to October 20th this year.

00:19Even when it didn't rain, the sky was overcast.

00:21The apple tree leaves couldn't photosynthesize, so the fruit didn't produce much sugar.

00:26Without enough sunlight, the apples don't ripen.

00:30Ma is one of six South Korean farmers suing Korea's state utility,

00:34Electric Power Corporation, or KEPCO.

00:36They say its use of coal and other fossil fuels has sped up the impact of climate change

00:41and is the cause of their crop damage.

00:44KEPCO's subsidiaries were responsible for about a quarter of South Korea's greenhouse gas emissions

00:49between 2011 and 2022, according to NGO Solutions for Our Climate.

00:54In 2022, over half of KEPCO's power generation came from fossil fuels,

01:00with renewables accounting for only a fraction.

01:02In this situation, farmers must switch to planting new varieties,

01:09but older farmers who've been growing and harvesting apples for decades

01:12are now unable to do so if they need to relocate their farmland.

01:16So, South Korean agriculture is facing increased difficulties.

01:20This lawsuit is the first of its kind in South Korea,

01:23raising questions about how companies should take responsibility

01:26for their impact on the climate and on people's livelihoods.

01:32The South Korean government is researching how much loss farmers bear due to the climate crisis.

01:37This represents a significant range of losses.

01:40We will integrate the research results

01:42and conduct in-depth interviews with farmers regarding their problems

01:45to collect evidence to support our claims.

01:48Each farmer is seeking around 3,500 U.S. dollars in compensation,

01:53far less than what Ma says he lost due to this year's flooding.

01:57But he says at least the lawsuit can raise awareness about climate change.

02:01We hope that KEPCO will move toward more sustainable,

02:07environmentally-friendly directions in its future energy policies.

02:11Capco declined to comment on the lawsuit,

02:13but maintains that the company is committed to its goal

02:16of cutting carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

02:19Looking ahead, farmers like Ma hope that they can keep

02:22their land alive for the next generation

02:24without being held back by energy policies of big power companies.

02:29Andy Xue, Lily Lamatina, and Eric Gao for Taiwan Plus.