Nearly nine out of 10 disputes over people's living environments last year were caused by noise pollution and vibrations, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.
Of the 174 cases resolved last year by the ministry's central arbitration committee for environmental disputes, complaints over noise pollution and vibrations accounted for the vast majority with 148 cases, or 85 percent, the ministry said.
The committee handles disputes in which one of the involved parties is the state or the local government, and those in which the estimated
damage is worth 100 million won (US$89,150) or more, among others.
Of the remaining cases, conflicts over the right to have sunlight in the home or elsewhere were the most common with 17 cases, while
water pollution accounted for six and air pollution for three.
The number of disputes over the right to sunlight has been consistently high, with 16 cases in 2008 and 14 in 2009. The total tally from the committee's launch in 1991 until the end of last year was 76 cases, according to the ministry.
Residents living in attached houses or those surrounded by high-rise buildings often complain of the lack of sunlight, while others have recently lodged complaints over damage to their crops caused by new bridges and other structures blocking the light, a committee official said.
To compensate, the committee last year decided on payments worth 32.18 billion won, or 7.1 percent of the total amount requested.