National Assembly Communication Center Jeju 2nd Airport "Stop forcing the basic plan notification" voice

A press conference on the second airport held at the National Assembly Communication Center on Nov. 11. / Photo courtesy of the Jeju Emergency Residents' Association.

The National Assembly has called for a halt to the notice of the basic plan for Jeju's second airport.

Representative Yoon Jong-oh (Progressive Party of Korea, Ulsan North District), a member of the National Assembly's Committee on Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and the Jeju Islanders' Committee for the River Administration of Jeju Airport 2 held a press conference at the National Assembly's Communication Center at 11 a.m. on the 11th, demanding that the basic plan be suspended.

The press conference was attended by Kang Kang-bo, Park Chan-sik, and Lee Young-woong, co-chairs of the Jeju Residents' Assembly, Kim Man-ho, chairman of the Jeju Federation of Farmers' Associations, and Kim Myung-ho, chairman of the Progressive Party of Korea.

"Jeju is boiling over with conflict and confusion again, as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance are said to have finished deliberating on the total project cost and the Aviation Policy Committee and will soon announce the basic plan for the second airport," they said.

"The total project cost of the second airport proposed in the 2023 master plan is 6.89 trillion won, a 44% increase from the 4.78 trillion won in the 2016 preliminary feasibility study. If it is increased by more than 15% from the preliminary feasibility, it is subject to a feasibility study." "They said that they did not conduct a feasibility study because the increase is not more than 15%, except for land prices and inflation. This is a false excuse that misleads the reality," he added.

"In the preliminary feasibility study, it was decided to allocate all international flights and 50 percent domestic flights to the second airport, but in the basic plan, it was changed to 50 percent domestic flights. The site area was also reduced from 6.43 million square meters to 5.5 million square meters. The project area has increased by about 12% excluding land prices and inflation. It is reasonable to assume that it has increased by at least 20 percent when reflecting the reduction in scale. This is why MOLIT has hinted at the possibility of a feasibility study," they criticized.

They added, "The demand for air travel to Jeju has not increased in nearly a decade. In 2016, Jeju recorded 15.8 million tourists, and by 2023, the number dropped to 13.37 million. This year, Jeju aims to attract 14 million tourists, and the number of tourists is already on the decline considering the declining population, aging population, and slowing economic growth."

"There is no way to address the damages pointed out by environmental organizations during the strategic environmental impact assessment process. The environmental organizations have expressed their opinion that the planned site for the second airport is environmentally unsuitable due to the risk of aircraft-bird collisions, conflicts between bird habitat protection, groundwater content, and lack of measures to preserve legally protected species. In 2021, the Ministry of Environment also rejected the strategic environmental impact assessment for Airport 2."

"The Yoon administration conditionally passed the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment with no change in content. The condition is to resolve environmental issues, which is impossible to accomplish. It has not been resolved even after supplementing it three times since 2019, and it is a problem that cannot be overcome with existing technologies and human capabilities."

They added, "The second airport is an anti-democratic act that goes against the climate crisis response, breaks promises to the people, and erodes public trust. In a poll conducted by a tripartite agreement between Jeju Island, the Jeju Provincial Assembly, and MOLIT, opposition prevailed, and nearly 80 percent of the island's residents are calling for a referendum."

"The opposition, which has received overwhelming support, must stop the Yoon administration from going too far. Unnecessary plans such as the second airport must be thoroughly verified to stop wasting taxpayer money. The National Assembly should stop the Yun government from enforcing the notification of the basic plan and strongly call for a feasibility study and a referendum on the Jeju Islanders."