Governor Oh Young-hoon "doesn't mean I'm in favor" of pursuing '2nd airport remarks'

Governor Oh's interview with the Emergency Citizens' Assembly "Calling for a basic plan, intention to bring authority to the provinces"

Members of the Jeju Island Emergency Residents' Council for Jeju 2nd Airport meet with Jeju Island Governor Oh Young-hoon on Sunday afternoon. Photo/Jeju Jeju Airport 2 Emergency Residents' Assembly

Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon, in a meeting with a group opposed to Jeju's second airport, stated that "urging the notification of the basic plan for the second airport does not mean that he is in favor of promoting the second airport in Seongsan-eup."

The Jeju Emergency Residents' Assembly to Stop Jeju's Second Airport released the details of the meeting with Governor Oh at the Jeju Governor's office at 3 p.m. on the 27th.

The meeting was attended by Governor Oh, as well as Father Kim Tae-jung, the permanent representative of the Emergency Residents' Council, Jeong Bong-sook, co-chair of the Environmental Movement Alliance, Lim Ki-hwan, head of the Jeju branch of the Democratic Trade Union Confederation, Kim Man-ho, chairman of the Jeju Federation of the National Federation of Farmers' Associations, and Kang Kang-bo and Park Chan-sik, co-chairmen of the Executive Committee.

The Emergency Residents' Council asked the governor about his recent call for the government to publish a basic plan for a second airport, asking, "Does this mean that he is in favor of the construction of a second airport and will take the lead?"

In response, Oh said, "When I called for the publication of the basic plan, it does not mean that I am in favor of the second airport in Seongsan-eup," adding, "When I asked for a quick decision on the basic plan, I meant that it is desirable to bring it to the environmental impact assessment stage, which Jeju Island has the authority to do, and make a decision according to the legal process."

In response to a question about how the right of people to decide will be realized during the environmental impact assessment process, Oh said, "The right of people to decide can be exercised through various deliberation procedures and the consent process of the provincial council."

In particular, he said, "Jeju Island will ensure opportunities for participation in the process of formulating consultation opinions on the environmental impact assessment and, if necessary, establish an environmental conflict mediation council to discuss transparently and fairly."

However, Governor Oh gave a principled stance, saying, "Still, it is necessary to expand airport facilities because the current airport facilities are insufficient, but this is a process of reviewing the plan proposed by MOLIT, and it is not a stage to propose other alternatives."

Regarding the issue of conditionally attaching issues that should have been reviewed in terms of site feasibility in the strategic environmental impact assessment stage and transferring them to the environmental impact assessment, Governor Oh criticized that "the Ministry of Environment failed to do its job," and said, "The Jeju Environment Department will thoroughly verify it more than the Ministry of Environment, and if it is notified, we will brief you on what process to proceed by."

At the meeting, the Emergency Residents' Council urged the governor to make a decision, saying, "The only way to resolve the conflict over the second airport is for residents to actually participate and decide, including a referendum."

Earlier, Oh had urged the government to expedite the pending notification of the Jeju Airport 2 Basic Plan at the Jeju Island Monthly Policy Sharing Meeting, which he chaired on the 12th, and at a meeting with the leadership of the National Power Jeju Party on the 14th.

In response, residents opposed to the second airport project criticized Oh's remarks on promoting the second airport project as violating the principles of 'minimizing conflict' and 'putting the interests of residents first' and promoting social conflict.