Science prevails over wild rumors

The government on Wednesday released the results of its assessment of environmental effects from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system deployed in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang. The Korea Radio Promotion Association and the Air Force have jointly measured the environmental impact of the Thaad system since the end of 2022 to see what happens when the radars in the U.S. military base in the county are fully activated.

It was found that the maximum level of electromagnetic waves in the residential areas was approximately 0.019 watts per square meter — just 0.19 percent of the safety standards at 10 watts per square meters. The number represents no health threat to the residents.

Many environmental advocacy groups vehemently opposing the Thaad deployment since 2016 citing dire environmental impact will certainly be embarrassed to see the findings. The groups even occupied the entrance to the base to block the military from transporting related equipment to the base. That’s not all. The radical groups maliciously spread wild rumors that electromagnetic waves from Thaad radars would contaminate Korean melons, the major produce from Seongju County.

As a result, melon farmers in the county struggled to sell 371 billion won ($287 million) worth of the fruits in 2016, less than 402 billion won in 2015. The sales amount fortunately recovered to 500.3 billion won in 2017, but the farmers already suffered about 31 billion won in losses for one year.

Environment can hardly be restored once critically damaged. In the worst case, it can devastate the ecosystem. That’s why an effort to protect environment must continue. But the propagation of fake news and exaggerations can cause massive economic and social cost.

A typical example is the rallies by environmental groups who staged ferocious rallies in the early 2000s on the grounds that salamanders will die if a tunnel running through a mountain in Daegu is built. The construction cost an additional 6 trillion won as the construction was delayed. The same happened in Jeju. Radical groups fiercely opposed the construction of a naval base in the island due to their fear that it will kill red-foot crabs and narrow-mouthed toads living along the coast. But their numbers rather increased after the construction of the naval base. There’s no need to mention the nonsensical rumor about the mad cow disease from U.S. beef imports.

When North Korea continued testing missiles, our military had to bring oil to the Thaad base via airlift because protestors blocked the gate. Our military can start to build the radar base now after six years. Criticism and opposition is needed in drawing up policies to reduce side effects. But if it goes too far, it does not help the country. The government must hold those responsible for wild rumors accountable for the delay in construction.