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KEPCO Open Letter

Can you help us get the ear of the KEPCO CEO? We're calling on him to sell the land back for agriculture so our community can rebuild. Will you join us?

Phill Kennedy, President, Bylong Valley Protection Alliance


Dear Cheong Seung-il, CEO, KEPCO,

Today the NSW Court of Appeal ruled against KEPCO on appeal which means that the proposed Bylong coal project cannot proceed.

We, the undersigned, are calling on you to respond by relinquishing the exploration lease for the project and selling the land back to agricultural interests. We can see no valid basis for KEPCO to continue with the project. 

The Bylong proposal is beset by severe environmental, social and economic risks. There is fierce and widespread opposition to the project in Australia and both of KEPCO’s legal challenges have failed.

It is also a legacy project planned and conceived many years ago that now has no place given the energy transformation that is underway. 

South Korea’s new electricity plan - finalised in December 2020 - will see thermal coal consumption drop by almost 19 million tonnes per annum by 2030.  The Bylong coal project is inconsistent with this Green New Deal that is underway.

We note that KEPCO has advised the Korean Government that they have recently had an offer for purchase of the land from agricultural interests.

In order to avoid sinking yet more large sums of money into a stranded asset that will besmirch KEPCO’s reputation, we encourage you to relinquish the exploration lease and enable the land to be returned to agriculture and nature conservation.

Regenerative agriculture and carbon farming at Bylong would provide a global climate benefit that would be a credit to KEPCO.

Please act now to relinquish the exploration lease and enable the local community to rebuild around a new, clean future.

Will you sign?

Showing 30 reactions

  • Robin McTaggart
    signed 2021-09-22 18:27:56 +1000
  • Laila Jamal
    signed 2021-09-22 15:21:28 +1000
  • Lillian Reilly
    signed 2021-09-22 14:23:23 +1000
    This community has suffered long and hard. The land must be returned to agricultural use for the sake of the community’s future.
  • Lesley McFarlane
    signed 2021-09-22 10:50:09 +1000
  • Miles Harvey
    signed 2021-09-22 10:45:55 +1000
    Dear Cheong Seung-il, CEO, your land is really farming land and that is its value. Now would be a good time to write down the value of the land and include the loss amongst all of the other losses that have arisen because of covid-19.
  • Ian Simmons
    signed 2021-09-22 10:35:44 +1000
  • Vera Elvery
    signed 2021-09-22 09:23:22 +1000
  • Margaret Cameron
    signed 2021-09-22 07:31:53 +1000
  • Paul Munro
    signed 2021-09-21 22:19:40 +1000
  • Mervyn Vessey
    signed 2021-09-21 21:28:51 +1000
    thank you for your help now we can reciprocate

    lets get all the land back
  • Steve Donovan
    signed 2021-09-21 21:16:35 +1000
  • Laura Fisher
    signed 2021-09-21 20:32:25 +1000
  • John French
    signed 2021-09-21 17:54:19 +1000
    The IPCC’s Climate Report (2021) showed that the two main actions necessary to limit global warming to 1.5C is (a) to decline global GHG emissions from 2020’s onwards. and (b) reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.


    It is now unequivocal that human-caused emissions, such as burning /using fossil fuels and cutting down trees, are responsible for recent warmings. Of the 1.1 C of warming we’ve experienced since the pre-industrial era, the IPCC finds that less than 0/1 C is due to natural forcings, such as volcanos or variations in the sun.


    It is time for governments, businesses, investors and consumers to step up their actions to be commensurate with the scale of the crises we face. So, roll on the re-wiring of the world using RE and ecological literate leadership.
  • Maylene Merrett
    signed 2021-09-21 16:45:39 +1000
  • Elizabeth Stevenson
    signed 2021-09-21 16:03:07 +1000
  • Bradley Traynor
    signed 2021-09-21 15:55:24 +1000
    I am against new coal mines when the existing ones are running at less than full capacity. In a World of environmental awareness and moves to reduce carbon emissions, the search for new coal mines seems to go against all logic.
  • Cheryl Peiffer
    signed 2021-09-21 15:22:29 +1000
  • Miriam Farrington
    signed 2021-09-21 15:09:24 +1000
    Farming is absolutely necessary for healthy food, that grows near where it will be consumed.
  • Matthew Lambourne
    signed 2021-09-21 15:08:43 +1000
  • Libby Varcoe
    signed 2021-09-21 13:55:46 +1000
    Please respect the high agricultural value of this land and surrounding natural environment.
  • Ludwig Mlcek
    signed 2021-09-21 12:22:03 +1000
  • Amanda Johnson
    signed 2021-09-21 11:53:31 +1000
  • Ian Partridge
    signed 2021-09-21 11:29:38 +1000
  • Sean Harwood
    signed 2021-09-21 11:29:36 +1000
    Coal is on the way out . Our environment needs to be protected
  • Janet Walk
    signed 2021-09-21 11:23:17 +1000
    This would not only benefit Bylong but would show the rest of the fossil fuel industry that exiting the sector gracefully and constructively can and must be done to ensure habitats for all living creatures on Earth.
  • Brenda Burton
    signed 2021-09-21 10:38:12 +1000
  • Anthony Osborne
    signed 2021-09-21 10:37:02 +1000
    Maybe Kepco could do a deal with the local producers and secure some beef/lamb for their people.
  • Jane Rogers
    signed 2021-09-21 10:35:09 +1000
    Please do the right thing for the Bylong Community and allow farmers back into the area to re establish what was once a vibrant community. Thank you
  • Sarah Moles
    signed 2021-09-21 09:49:45 +1000
  • Phillip Whitney
    signed 2021-09-21 09:48:04 +1000