Public perception of geothermal power plants in Korea following the Pohang earthquake: A social representation theory study

Abstract

This study sought to determine how the residents of Pohang, Korea, perceive geothermal plants after the 2017 Pohang earthquake by applying social representation theory through a mixed-method approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative research. The residents’ perception of the geothermal plant was largely anchored to their perception of nuclear power plants. At the time of the Gyeongju earthquake in 2016, public discourse on nuclear accidents developed and was thereafter perpetuated by the Pohang earthquake victims via cognitive anchoring. The survey results demonstrated that Pohang residents had a significantly negative opinion on geothermal plants regardless of safety, climate change mitigation, and economic factors. Upon analyzing the respondents’ energy preferences through factor analysis, geothermal power plants were found to aggregate in the same category as nuclear power plants. This result statistically confirms that Pohang residents associate geothermal power plants with the risk discourse on nuclear power plants.