Cattle farmers in Korea reeling from solar panel policy

Solar and wind facilities in rural areas of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City have left some residents facing heat, noise and disruption to their homes and livelihoods. In Naju, cattle farmers Kim Young-hee and Lim Jae-yeol say solar panels near their home have harmed their health and cattle after they moved to escape problems they attributed to a wind farm. A revised enforcement decree effective Sept. 18 limits residential setback protections to areas with at least five clustered homes. Residents on Bigeum Island also report impacts on salt production, aquaculture and property values as solar facilities and a substation are built nearby.

The roof of Kim and Lim’s home reached a surface temperature of up to 65 degrees Celsius, and the nearest solar panels were 3 to 5 meters from their front door.

Naju City’s setback ordinance barred solar facilities within 100 meters of residential property boundaries, extending the distance to 200 meters in April 2021; the nearby project received development approval in April 2020.

The revised decree caps residential setbacks for wind turbines at 1,500 meters, but applies the protection only where at least five homes are clustered together.

On Bigeum Island, more than 150 of roughly 240 salt farms had been converted into solar power plants, leaving about 80, according to salt producer Myeong Seong-bok.

A total of 517 residents filed a public interest audit request concerning the Bigeum Island project in October last year, alleging inadequate public consultation and permit-related issues.

Published Oct 25, 2026 12:00 am KST

Kim Young-hee stands in front of a solar power facility near her home in Daesan-ri, Seji-myeon, Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, July 2. Her home and Korean cattle barn are surrounded by three solar power plants, with the nearest panels just 3 to 5 meters from her front door. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

At noon on Aug. 6 in a rural village in Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, a thermal imaging drone camera showed the home and Korean cattle barn of Kim Young-hee, 73, and her husband, Lim Jae-yeol, 70, glowing red like a blazing heat island.

Surrounded on all sides by three solar power plants that resembled a black sea, their home was trapped in the middle, with its roof surface temperature soaring to as high as 65 degrees Celsius. The nearest solar panels extended almost to the boundary of their yard, just 3 to 5 meters from the front door.

“When the sun rises in summer, both inside and outside our house become an unbearable sauna. Sweat makes it impossible to keep my eyes open, so I flee to the village community center during the day. As soon as the sun comes up, I get so dizzy and develop such severe headaches that I simply cannot endure it. This is something that kills people — a ‘torture device.’ Government officials say solar power poses no scientifically proven problems, but when I am suffering like this right in front of my kitchen window, how persuasive can that science possibly be?”

In the left photo, an aerial view of the area around Kim Young-hee’s home in Daesan-ri, Seji-myeon, Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug. 6, shows three solar power plants surrounding her home and cattle barn. In the right photo, a thermal image of the same area taken at noon that day shows the house and barn glowing bright yellow from the heat. Higher surface temperatures appear more yellow, and the roof of Kim’s home reached 65 degrees Celsius. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Beneath the scorching roof, the cattle barn that provided the couple’s livelihood was also suffering. Kim said the conception rate among their breeding cows had been cut in half, and 30 head of cattle, including sensitive young calves, died one after another last winter.

Solar panels densely line the area in front of Kim Young-hee’s home in Daesan-ri, Seji-myeon, Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug. 6. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

What makes their predicament particularly distressing is that the couple are what have come to be called “renewable energy refugees.” They fled wind turbines only to find themselves surrounded by solar panels. The couple previously ran a Korean cattle farm for years in another area of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City.

They said they suffered from low-frequency noise and livestock deaths after a large wind farm was built on a nearby mountain. Eventually, they left the farm they had grown attached to and, hoping to raise cattle in peace, carefully checked whether there were any renewable energy facilities nearby before buying land in Daesan-ri, Naju, in 2017. But once again, they found themselves trapped, this time by solar panels installed right outside their home.

Kim Young-hee stands on a narrow path in front of her home in Daesan-ri, Seji-myeon, Naju, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, July 2. Her house is on the left and a solar power plant is on the right. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Naju City’s urban planning ordinance prohibited solar power facilities within 100 meters of residential property boundaries; the distance was extended to 200 meters in April 2021. The nearby solar power facility received development approval in April 2020. The architectural firm hired by the couple had applied for a building permit for their home in January that year but withdrew the application just two hours after filing it.

The couple said they did not learn about the solar project until August 2020, when their house was nearly complete. Kim said she filed a criminal complaint, but no charges were handed down. The city maintains that the solar project’s development approval preceded the residential building permit and therefore did not violate the setback ordinance. The city arranged several meetings between Kim and the project operator, but they failed to reach an agreement over relocation assistance. Instead, the operator proposed measures such as installing a small solar power system on the couple’s roof.

Kim staged a one-person protest in front of Naju City Hall for more than two years. In October 2024, the project operator filed a 50 million won ($36,000) damages lawsuit against her, alleging that her complaints and obstruction of construction had delayed the power plant’s operation by more than two years.

A laser distance meter shows a distance of 40 meters from the front of Jeong Seong-min’s home to the solar panels, Aug. 7 in Gurim-ri, Bigeum-myeon, Sinan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

The problem is that the revised setback rules have left cases like the couple’s without protection.

An enforcement decree amended under the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy, which took effect Sept. 18, allows local governments to impose residential setback requirements for solar power facilities only when at least five houses are clustered together. In areas where four or fewer homes stand apart from one another, solar panels can be installed right up to a front door without being subject to a setback requirement. Farmers’ groups say the change ignores the realities of rural communities, where homes are often scattered across the landscape, and expands regulatory blind spots.

Song Jeong-eum stands in the yard of her home in Unnam-myeon, Muan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, July 2. A wind turbine on a ridge in front of her house operates about 280 meters away. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Wind power is subject to similar restrictions. The revised decree caps residential setbacks for wind turbines at 1,500 meters, but, as with solar power, protection applies only where at least five homes are clustered together. Song Jeong-eum, 70, lives in Beombawi Village, Unnam-myeon in Muan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, about 280 meters from a wind farm built after receiving approval in 2021. The operator had applied for approval before the local setback ordinance took effect, so the project was not subject to the distance restrictions at the time.

The village has only four houses and therefore remains outside the scope of residential setback protection under the revised decree as well. Song said the sound of the turbines resembles an airplane taking off, forcing her to keep the windows shut on windy days even in the summer. During seasons when the sun sits lower in the sky, she also experiences dizziness as the rotating blades cast shadows across her yard throughout the morning, a phenomenon known as shadow flicker.

Song and 201 other residents of Unnam-myeon applied for environmental dispute mediation and, she said, had their noise complaints recognized. She also lamented that property values had plummeted as the area became increasingly difficult to live in.

“I used to get offers of 150,000 to 200,000 won per 'pyeong' (3.3 square meters) for this land, but now it's worth less than 50,000 won, and I can't even sell it,” she said. “We need renewable energy, of course, but even if only one person lives somewhere, that person is still a human being. Shouldn’t we also consider the lives of the few residents who are affected?”

In some communities, both homes and livelihoods are under pressure as substations are built near villages already surrounded by large solar farms. On Bigeum Island in Sinan County, a 200-megawatt resident-participation solar power plant was completed in 2024. Additional privately operated solar facilities have since been built, while construction of a substation is underway nearby. Solar panels have come to within about 40 meters of homes and roughly 20 meters of salt farms and aquaculture facilities. The substation is being built about 280 meters from residential properties.

Jeong Seong-min, 73, who has cultivated rice for 50 years in Gurim-ri, Bigeum-myeon, said a salt farm that once stayed cool because it was filled with water had been converted into a solar facility, forcing residents to keep their windows closed even in summer because of the heat and inverter noise.

“The land has lost so much value that I cannot sell my house and leave,” he said.

Kim Jong-yeol feeds his whiteleg shrimp at his aquaculture farm in Bigeum-myeon, Sinan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug. 7. Solar panels line the aea about 20 meters behind the farm. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Kim Jong-yeol, 71, who operates a whiteleg shrimp farm nearby and chairs the Bigeum Renewable Energy Emergency Response Committee, said shrimp died amid more than two months of noise and vibration from pile-driving work at the substation during the stocking season from April to May. He added that water temperatures rose by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius, forcing him to drill a new groundwater well.

A total of 517 residents filed a public interest audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection in October last year. They alleged, among others, that public consultation had been inadequate and that the project operator had divided the development into multiple smaller projects to obtain permits while avoiding an environmental impact assessment.

Myeong Seong-bok stands at his salt farm in Bigeum-myeon, Sinan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug.18. Solar panels line the area behind the salt farm. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

Residents also say their livelihoods are being undermined as salt farms are successively converted into solar power sites, with panels now crowding the remaining salt farms. Myeong Seong-bok, 71, who has produced salt for 45 years on Bigeum Island, the birthplace of Korea’s traditional solar salt industry, said more than 150 of the island’s roughly 240 salt farms had been converted into solar power plants, leaving only about 80.

“Salt is made by evaporating seawater with sunlight and wind. But panels installed all around us block the wind, and construction dust blows in from nearby sites. The salt no longer crystallizes into large grains of the same quality as before,” he said.

Myeong added that the rapid conversion of salt farms into solar sites had weakened their ability to retain rainwater, worsening flooding during heavy downpours. In the past, he said, young people earned a living by working at salt farms in the summer and growing "seomcho," a local variety of spinach, in the winter. Now that those jobs have disappeared, many have left the island.

A drone view of salt farms in Bigeum-myeon, Sinan County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug. 18 shows solar panels installed on land previously used for salt production. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

How to protect the lives of rural residents, particularly in sparsely populated areas, remains a challenge as Korea expands its renewable energy supply. Kim and her husband, who have already moved once to escape a wind farm, now hope to relocate again from their home in Naju. But they say they have no clear way to repay their debts by selling the house or to move the cattle that sustain their livelihood.

Looking at the solar panels under the blazing midsummer sun, Kim said, “I want to leave with my cattle.”

Solar panels densely cover farmland near the Yeongsan River in Samho-eup, Yeongam County, South Jeolla Province, Aug. 19. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yoon

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

全南光州特别广域市农村地区的太阳能和风能设施建设给一些居民带来了高温、噪音以及对房屋和生计的干扰。在罗州市，养牛户金英熙和林宰烈表示，他们为了躲避风力发电场带来的问题而搬家，但家附近的太阳能电池板损害了他们的健康和牲畜。一项于9月18日生效的修订版执行法令将住宅退让保护范围限制在至少有五户住宅的聚集区。比金岛的居民也反映，由于附近正在建设太阳能设施和变电站，盐的生产、水产养殖和房产价值都受到了影响。

金和林家的屋顶表面温度高达 65 摄氏度，最近的太阳能电池板距离他们家前门 3 到 5 米。

罗州市的退让条例禁止在距离住宅物业边界 100 米以内建设太阳能设施，该条例于 2021 年 4 月将距离扩大到 200 米；附近的该项目于 2020 年 4 月获得开发许可。

修订后的法令将风力涡轮机的住宅退让距离上限设定为 1500 米，但该保护措施仅适用于至少五户人家聚集在一起的情况。

据盐业生产商明成福称，比金岛上约 240 个盐场中，超过 150 个已改建为太阳能发电厂，剩下约 80 个。

去年 10 月，共有 517 位居民就比格姆岛项目提交了公共利益审计请求，指控该项目公众咨询不足以及存在许可证相关问题。

发布于2026年10月25日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

7月2日，金英熙站在她位于全罗南道光州特别广域市罗州市世志面大山里家附近的一座太阳能发电设施前。她的家和韩国牛棚周围环绕着三座太阳能发电厂，最近的太阳能板距离她家前门仅3至5米。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

8 月 6 日中午，在全罗南道光州特别广域市罗州市的一个乡村，一架热成像无人机拍摄到，73 岁的金英熙和她 70 岁的丈夫林宰烈的家和韩国牛棚像燃烧的热岛一样泛着红光。

他们的房子被三座太阳能发电厂环绕，宛如一片黑色的海洋，被困在中间，屋顶表面温度飙升至65摄氏度。最近的太阳能电池板几乎延伸到他们院子的边界，距离前门只有3到5米。

“夏天太阳一升起，我家屋里屋外就热得像桑拿房一样。汗流浃背，眼睛都睁不开，白天只能躲到村里的社区中心。太阳一升起，我就头晕目眩，头痛欲裂，实在受不了。这简直是要人命——简直是‘酷刑装置’。政府官员说太阳能发电没有任何科学证据证明的问题，可我坐在厨房窗前就这么受罪，他们的科学说法又能有多大的说服力呢？”

左图为8月6日拍摄的金英熙（音译）位于全南光州特别广域市罗州市世志面大山里的住宅及牛棚周围的航拍照片，照片显示三座太阳能发电站环绕着她的家和牛棚。右图为当天中午拍摄的同一区域的热成像图，显示房屋和牛棚因高温而呈现明亮的黄色。地表温度越高，黄色越明显，金英熙家的屋顶温度达到了65摄氏度。照片由《韩国时报》河相允拍摄。

在酷热的屋顶下，这对夫妇赖以生存的牛棚也遭受着煎熬。金女士说，他们种母牛的受孕率下降了一半，去年冬天，包括一些体弱多病的小牛犊在内的30头牛相继死亡。

8月6日，在全罗南道光州特别广域市罗州市世志面大山里，金英熙家门前密密麻麻地排列着太阳能电池板。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

这对夫妇的困境尤其令人痛心，因为他们是所谓的“可再生能源难民”。他们逃离了风力涡轮机，却发现自己被太阳能电池板包围。此前，这对夫妇在全罗南道光州特别广域市的另一个地区经营着一家韩国养牛场多年。

他们说，附近山上建起一座大型风力发电场后，他们饱受低频噪音和牲畜死亡的困扰。最终，他们离开了已经深爱的农场，希望能够安心养牛。2017年，他们在罗州市大山里买地之前，仔细考察了附近是否有可再生能源设施。然而，他们再次陷入困境，这次是因为家门口安装的太阳能电池板。

7月2日，金英熙站在全南光州特别广域市罗州市世志面大山里家门前的一条狭窄小路上。她的房子在左边，右边是一座太阳能发电厂。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

罗州市的城市规划条例禁止在住宅用地边界100米范围内建设太阳能发电设施；该距离于2021年4月扩大至200米。附近的太阳能发电设施于2020年4月获得开发许可。这对夫妇聘请的建筑事务所曾于同年1月为其住宅申请建筑许可证，但在提交申请仅两小时后便撤回了申请。

这对夫妇表示，直到2020年8月，他们的房子即将完工时，他们才知道这个太阳能项目。金女士称她已提起刑事诉讼，但最终未被起诉。市政府则坚持认为，该太阳能项目的开发审批早于住宅建筑许可证，因此并未违反建筑退让条例。市政府安排金女士与项目运营商多次会面，但双方未能就搬迁援助达成一致。运营商提出的方案是，在夫妇俩的屋顶上安装一套小型太阳能发电系统。

金某在罗州市政府门前进行了长达两年多的单人抗议。2024年10月，项目运营商对她提起5000万韩元（约合3.6万美元）的损害赔偿诉讼，声称她的投诉和阻挠施工导致电厂运营延误两年多。

8月7日，在全罗南道光州特别广域市新安郡碧金面九林里，激光测距仪显示郑成民家门前到太阳能电池板的距离为40米。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

问题在于，修订后的挫折规则使像这对夫妇这样的案例得不到保护。

根据《促进新能源和可再生能源开发、利用和推广法》修订的一项执行令于9月18日生效，该执行令允许地方政府仅在至少五户人家聚集的情况下，才对太阳能发电设施实施住宅退让要求。在四户或四户以下房屋彼此分散的区域，太阳能电池板可以直接安装在房屋前门，无需遵守退让要求。农民团体表示，这项变更忽视了农村社区的实际情况，因为农村地区的房屋往往分散在各处，而且这项变更扩大了监管盲区。

7月2日，宋正音站在全南光州特别广域市务安郡云南面自家院子里。她家门前山脊上的风力发电机在约280米外运转。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

风力发电也受到类似的限制。修订后的法令将风力涡轮机与居民住宅的距离上限设定为1500米，但与太阳能发电一样，只有至少五户人家聚集在一起时才适用该保护措施。70岁的宋正音（音译）住在全南光州特别广域市务安郡云南面番尾村，距离一座于2021年获批后建成的风力发电场约280米。由于运营商在当地距离限制条例生效前就已提交了申请，因此该项目当时不受距离限制的约束。

该村只有四户人家，因此也不受修订法令规定的住宅退让保护范围的约束。宋女士说，风力涡轮机的声音就像飞机起飞一样，即使在夏天，刮风天她也不得不关上窗户。在太阳位置较低的季节，旋转的叶片会在她家院子里投下阴影，让她感到头晕目眩，这种现象被称为“阴影闪烁”。

宋女士和云南面其他201位居民申请了环境纠纷调解，她说，他们的噪音投诉得到了认可。她还感叹，随着该地区居住环境日益恶劣，房价也大幅下跌。

“以前这块地每‘坪’（3.3平方米）能卖到15万到20万韩元，现在却不到5万韩元，根本卖不出去，”她说。“我们当然需要可再生能源，但即使某个地方只有一个人住，那个人也是人。难道我们不应该也考虑一下受影响的少数居民的生命吗？”

在一些社区，由于变电站建在已被大型太阳能发电厂包围的村庄附近，居民的房屋和生计都面临着压力。在锡南郡比金岛，一座200兆瓦的居民参与式太阳能发电厂于2024年建成。此后，又建起了其他私人运营的太阳能设施，而附近一座变电站的建设也正在进行中。太阳能电池板距离居民住宅仅约40米，距离盐场和水产养殖设施约20米。这座变电站距离居民住宅约280米。

73岁的郑成民（音译）在吹金面九林里种了50年水稻，他说，以前因为注满水而保持凉爽的盐场被改造成了太阳能发电厂，由于炎热和逆变器噪音，居民们即使在夏天也不得不关上窗户。

“这块地贬值太多，我没办法卖掉房子离开，”他说。

8月7日，在全罗南道光州特别广域市新安郡碧金面，金钟烈正在他的养殖场喂虾。养殖场后方约20米处铺设了太阳能电池板。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

71岁的金钟烈（音译）在附近经营着一家南美白对虾养殖场，同时也是比金可再生能源应急委员会的主席。他表示，在4月至5月的放养季节，变电站持续两个多月的打桩作业造成了噪音和震动，导致虾死亡。他还补充说，水温升高了1至2摄氏度，迫使他不得不钻一口新的地下水井。

去年10月，共有517名居民向审计监察委员会提交了公共利益审计申请。他们指控，除其他事项外，公众咨询不足，且项目运营商为了获得许可，将开发项目拆分成多个小型项目，从而规避了环境影响评估。

8月18日，明成福站在位于全罗南道光州特别广域市新安郡碧金面的盐场前。盐场后方铺设着太阳能电池板。（韩国时报 河相允 摄）

居民们还表示，随着盐场陆续被改造成太阳能发电站，他们的生计正受到威胁，如今剩余的盐场也挤满了太阳能电池板。71岁的明成福（音译）在韩国传统太阳能盐业的发源地——碧金岛从事盐业已有45年，他说，岛上约240个盐场中，超过150个已被改造成太阳能发电站，只剩下约80个。

“盐是通过阳光和风力蒸发海水制成的。但是我们周围安装的太阳能板阻挡了风，附近工地的建筑灰尘也吹进来。盐不再像以前那样结晶成大颗粒、高质量的盐了，”他说。

明补充说，盐田迅速改建为太阳能发电厂削弱了其蓄水能力，加剧了暴雨期间的洪涝灾害。他说，过去年轻人夏天在盐田打工，冬天种植当地特有的菠菜品种“仙草”，以此谋生。如今这些工作机会消失了，许多人离开了这座岛屿。

8月18日，无人机拍摄的画面显示，全罗南道光州特别广域市新安郡碧金面盐场原先的盐田上已安装了太阳能电池板。（韩国时报 河相允摄）

随着韩国扩大可再生能源供应，如何保障农村居民，特别是人口稀少地区的居民的生命安全仍然是一个挑战。金女士和她的丈夫曾因风力发电场而搬家，如今他们希望再次离开位于罗州的家。但他们表示，目前尚不清楚如何通过出售房屋来偿还债务，也无法转移维持生计的牲畜。

望着盛夏烈日下的太阳能电池板，金说：“我想带着我的牛离开。”

8月19日，全罗南道灵岩郡三湖邑荣山江附近的农田上，密集的太阳能电池板覆盖着大地。（韩国时报 河相允摄）

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。