"Annulment of Jeju 2nd Airport without residents' consent" opponents resolve to fight back
Kang Kang-bo, co-executive chairman of the Jeju Residents' Council for the 2nd Airport, calls for the withdrawal of the notice of the basic plan for the 2nd airport at a protest rally held in front of the Jeju City Government Civil Affairs Office on Tuesday.ⓒThe Voice of Jeju
The government's announcement of the basic plan for Jeju's second airport has reignited the conflict in the local community over the proposal. Opposition groups have repeatedly emphasized the realization of residents' right to decide and called for the withdrawal of the basic plan.
The Jeju Residents' Assembly for the 2nd Airport (hereinafter referred to as the Residents' Assembly) held an urgent protest against the announcement of the basic plan for Jeju's second airport at 7 p.m. on the 10th in front of the civil affairs office of the Jeju City Government, calling on the government to "withdraw the announcement of the basic plan for the second airport without the consent of the residents and hold a referendum."
The protest rally was attended by the chiefs and residents of Sinsan-ri, Nansan-ri, and Susan-ri villages in Seongsan-eup, where the second airport is planned, to complain about the unfairness of the construction of the second airport.
The Residents' Assembly repeatedly emphasized the withdrawal of the notice of the basic plan for the second airport, citing errors in demand forecasting, doubts about the feasibility of the location, and the erasure of farmers' right to survival.
The Jeju Emergency Residents' Council for the 2nd Airport held an urgent protest against the announcement of the Jeju 2nd Airport Basic Plan at 7 p.m. on the 10th in front of the Civil Affairs Office of Jeju City Hall with more than 100 people in attendance. Photo courtesy of Jeju Voice
"The second airport was promoted according to the demand forecast of 45.6 million passengers per year, but the number of passengers per year has decreased by 6 million in the basic plan," said the Residents' Assembly. "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has not been able to answer the question of why it is necessary to build an airport bigger than the current airport while damaging Jeju's nature on a large scale and wasting taxpayer money when there are no people who will use the airport."
"None of the countless questions and suspicions raised by specialized organizations, such as the risk of bird collisions, protection of migratory bird roosting sites, and assessment of bones, have been resolved." "However, the Ministry of Environment under Yoon Seok-yeol passed the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment with conditional consultation, which is no different from the one rejected by the previous government," he said.
"How is it right to cover 1.65 million square meters of green and farmland with concrete to build an airport when the climate crisis is threatening our survival?" he added, "The notification was forced through without the consent of the people, deepening the conflict between the people and the government."
The Jeju Emergency Residents' Council for the 2nd Airport held an urgent protest against the announcement of the Jeju 2nd Airport Basic Plan at 7 p.m. on the 10th in front of the Civil Affairs Office of Jeju City Hall with more than 100 people in attendance. Photo courtesy of Jeju Voice
"If the government ignores the will of the people and tries to force through the second airport, we will consider it as the second 4.3 and fight with everything we have against the Yoon Seok-yeol government," said the Jeju Islanders' Assembly. "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, which completely distorted public opinion on the second airport by announcing the basic plan, should apologize for spreading falsehoods and withdraw the announcement."
"If Governor Oh Young-hoon truly wants to think about the future of Jeju Island and support the will of the people, he should guarantee the right of the people to decide through a referendum," they said. "The Jeju National Assembly and the Democratic Party of Korea should also take the lead in protecting Jeju's pride by putting the brakes on the Yoon Seok-yeol government's push for a second airport."
"We can never recognize the announcement of the basic plan for the second airport, which has no legitimacy," he said, "We declare the announcement of the basic plan, which was promoted without the consent of the people, invalid and resolve to join the struggle to withdraw the announcement and hold a referendum."
