The Constitutional Court has ruled that the government's agreement with the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) missile defense system did not violate the basic rights of residents in nearby areas.
 
The court on Thursday dismissed two constitutional appeals filed against the government by residents of Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and Won Buddhists. The residents argued that the THAAD deployment could infringe on their right to live in a safe environment due to electromagnetic waves and noise from radars.
 
The court ruled unanimously against the appeal, emphasizing that it's difficult to say that the claimants' right to health and environmental rights were directly violated by the deployment agreement.
 
South Korea and the U.S. agreed to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in the country in 2016 and chose the Seongju golf course as its site.
 
The location decision resulted in physical clashes with residents and civic groups opposed to the deployment of the missile defense system.