Probe Finds 2017 Korean Quake 'Artificial'

A government probe joined by international seismologists have found that a 2017 earthquake that jolted a southeastern port city in South Korea was the result of human activity deep inside the earth, local media reported.



In November 2017, the 5.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the Pohang city left some 1,300 people homeless.



Korean daily The Chosunilbo said that a team appointed by the South Korean government in a report released Thursday confirmed that the "tremor occurred due to fault dislocations caused by increasing hydraulic pressure".



"[The pressure was created] after a nearby geothermal power plant injected up to 900 tons of water into the ground every day," the report said.



The epicenter of the earthquake was a mere 600m away from the geothermal power plant.



The government initiated the probe in March last year which was joined by several foreign seismologists.



The Pohang earthquake was "second-largest quake" to have hit the Korean Peninsula since measurements on Richter scale began in 1978, the newspaper said.



Professor Lee Kang-keun of Seoul National University who led the government-appointed team from Geological Society of Korea said: "The Pohang quake wasn't a natural disaster."



"A series of microquakes occurred after water was injected into the ground, which triggered the massive quake later on," he added.



The report said that two holes were drilled more than 4 km deep into the ground for geothermal power generation.



"Water is injected into one hole, warmed by subterranean heat, and steam extracted out of the other to power a turbine that generates electricity," it said.



The report said that some Korean geologists had pointed finger at the said geothermal power plant immediately after the quake.



"The investigators provided evidence that microquakes were concentrated along the specific fault line where the massive tremor occurred," it said.



A native civil society group is mulling to sue the government in this regard with lawyers speculating that damages could rise to W5 trillion ($4.4 billion) if all citizens of Pohang take part in the lawsuit, daily Chosunilbo said. -