▲ Ruling People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon (R) speaks at a meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 26, 2023. (Yonhap)

PPP leader-THAAD base

PPP leader to visit THAAD village after gov't concludes no health hazards from battery

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was to visit a southeastern village hosting a U.S. THAAD missile defense battery on Monday after the government concluded that the battery poses no electromagnetic hazards.

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon plans to attend a briefing on the results of the environmental impact assessment and meet with villagers during the visit to Seongju, 214 kilometers south of Seoul, including tasting melons produced in the region.

The trip comes after the environment ministry concluded Wednesday that the maximum amount of electromagnetic waves emanating from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base -- a key source of concern among local residents -- was just 0.2 percent of a legal safety protection standard.

The results debunked years of claims from anti-THAAD activists that electromagnetic waves from the powerful radar at the missile defense battery would leave melons, a key product of the region, withering away and even fried up.

The PPP had accused the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) of spreading such "false rumors." He has also claimed the administration of President Moon Jae-in deliberately delayed publishing the assessment report and called for an investigation.

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