Korea Gazettes Sayon Dam Safety Reinforcement Plan, 80.9 Billion Won for Ulsan

The Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office has gazetted the implementation plan for the Sayon Dam safety reinforcement project, a state-funded construction programme in Ulsan, in Official Gazette No. 21340 of 15 October 2026. The notice, Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office Notice No. 2026-57, fixes a construction cost of 80,932 million won, 99,793 square metres of land to be acquired or used, and a project period running from 2017 to 2030. It is signed by the head of the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office and dated 15 October 2026.

The plan was established under Article 12 of the Dam Construction and Management and Support for Surrounding Areas Act and Article 13 of the same act’s enforcement decree. The project is to be carried out by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, with the president of the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) acting as agent; the implementing body’s address is given as 11 Doum 6-ro, Sejong, with a second address at 200 Sintanjin-ro, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. The notice appears in the notices section of the gazette, among the day’s other ministerial and regional notices.

Earthquake Response and Protection of the Bangudae Petroglyphs

The stated purpose is to strengthen dam safety in response to earthquakes and the ageing of dam facilities, and to preserve the Bangudae Petroglyphs. The works are located in Sayon-ri, Beomseo-eup and Banyeon-ri, Eonyang-eup, in Ulju County, Ulsan, on a site of 99,793 square metres.

Spillway, Intake and Ancillary Works

• Spillway: three gates (B15.0 m × H7.0 m), a steep chute of 165.4 m, a stilling basin of 60.0 m and a service bridge.
• Intake facilities: a multi-port intake tower (1.2 m diameter, three ports), a 313.6 m water conveyance pipe and a valve chamber.
• Ancillary facilities: a 714.5 m access road and a 171.5 m maintenance road.
• Construction facilities: site roads, a temporary office, a construction safety centre and upstream and downstream cofferdams, as one lot.

Funding, Land Acquisition and Water Supply

• Construction cost: 80,932 million won, borne by the state.
• Land to be acquired or used: 99,793 square metres out of a total registered area of 275,915 square metres, across 47 parcels listed in the attached land schedule.
• Owners recorded in the schedule include the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, together with two private owners in Busan and Ulju County.
• Regional water supply: 48.1 million cubic metres per year of domestic, industrial and river-maintenance water for Ulsan.
• Relocation measures: none required.

Public Facilities, Inspection and Access to Documents

Public facilities will be managed and disposed of under Articles 17 and 18 of the same act. The detailed design documents are on deposit at the K-water Nakdong River East Project Office in Samnam-eup, Ulju County, Ulsan (telephone 052-251-9712), where interested parties may inspect them.

The notice matters to landowners and residents of Ulju County because it converts the reinforcement scheme into an executable plan with a defined land schedule and a fixed budget, and it opens the design file to public inspection. It also confirms that the works are framed as a response to seismic risk and ageing infrastructure while protecting the Bangudae Petroglyphs, whose conservation has long been tied to the dam’s water level.

Source: 관보 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea), No. 21340, 15 October 2026, notices (고시), p. 142 (official reference: 낙동강유역환경청고시 제2026-57호).