Topic: Offshore Drilling
Country: South Korea
Delegate Name: Michael Doa
School: Saline High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All South Korea position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
The Republic of Korea has always been an environmentally conscious nation. We have replanted forests; we have been host to a number of treaties concerning Antarctica, air pollution, and other global concerns. As a leading democratic nation in Asia, it is our duty to protect the environment that we live in. With these facts in mind, the Republic of Korea has decided to oppose allowing offshore drilling.
The Republic of Korea has born witness to environmental disaster caused by an oil spill. On Dec. 8 2007, the oil from a damaged tanker reached the western shore of our nation, in the Taean County. It leaked 66,000 barrels of oil into the sea. It contaminated early migratory birds, and many of the region’s beautiful beaches and islands, renowned for their scenic idyll. It cost nearly 300 billion won ($330 million U.S.) to clean, and is still not completely clean today. The once beautiful beaches and islands are now permanently tarred by the mark of the oil. The government declared a state of disaster. This was possibly the worst spill in our history. But it was not our first. In 1995, another oil spill dumped 5,000 tonnes into our waters. With these disasters fresh in mind, the Republic of Korea thinks that offshore drilling would be too much of a liability to allow. If the U.N. were to allow offshore drilling, and a tanker were to capsize, or a cyclone or hurricane were to hit these fragile yet expensive facilities, the resulting environmental catastrophe would far outweigh any benefits provide by offshore drilling. Oil spills aside; there are other environmental concerns as well. Air pollution from the engines or burning natural gases, disruption of economically and agriculturally vital fisheries by seismic charges, and possible leaks of waste materials into our uncertain water supply are also valid concerns.
The Republic of Korea suggests that the U.N. passes a measure that prevents offshore drilling. If they do not, many nations will fell the disaster and financial strain that the Republic of Korea felt in 1995 and 2007, for years and years to come.
