An Analysis of the Waste Management Systemin South Korea
--Focusing on the National Comprehensive Waste Management Plan--

Jung-Han Park*, Mikio Kasahara*, Susumu Tohno* and Yoshimi Iwabuchi*
* Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of
Energy Science, Kyoto University, Japan
+ Correspondence should be addressed to Jung-Han Park:
(Gokasho, Uji-city, Kyoto, 611-0011 Japan)

Abstract
The change of the social-industrial structure in South Korea, which accompanied the rapid economical development beginning in the early 1960s, caused environmental problems, which had already occurred in industrialized countries. One of these problems is waste. In order to solve this problem, which is getting more serious year by year, a series of legal adjustments is being made. Also, as in Japan policies for the efficient processing and management of waste are being advanced. In this work, the transition of waste management policies in South Korea is introduced. The present condition and problems of waste disposal plants and management policies in South Korea are analyzed focusing on the National Comprehensive Waste Management Plan, which is one of the long-term general plans for environmental preservation. Finally, we suggest a future waste management policy for South Korea.

Key words: the National Comprehensive Waste Management Plan, waste management policies, long-term general plan for environmental preservation, industrialized countries, waste