"MOLIT, Jeju 2nd Airport risk concealed and reduced" as 'bird crash' fears grow

Jersey Emergency Residents' Council to hold press conference on Jeju 2nd Airport on April 4th

The Jeju Emergency Residents' Council for Jeju 2nd Airport held a press conference at the Jeju Regional Headquarters of the Democratic Labor Union on the morning of the 4th, calling for a complete review of the Jeju 2nd Airport plan. ⓒJeju Voice

With bird strikes being blamed as the primary cause of the Jeju Air passenger plane crash at Muan Airport, allegations have been raised that MOLIT is covering up and reducing the risk of bird strikes near the proposed Jeju Airport 2 site.

The Jeju Residents' Council for Jeju Airport 2 held a press conference at the Jeju Regional Headquarters of the Democratic Trade Union Confederation on Thursday morning, calling on MOLIT to "completely review the Jeju Airport 2 plan."

"MOLIT has not issued a single official apology for the worst tragedy in history," the council said, adding, "MOLIT Minister Park Sang-woo announced his intention to resign, but insisted that the localizer, which was the main cause of the disaster, was 'equipped according to regulations.

"MOLIT said it was building a second airport to meet growing aviation demand, but then changed its mind, saying that Jeju Airport was saturated and a second airport was needed for safety," he said. "While emphasizing safety, MOLIT pushed ahead with the second airport while ignoring the opinion of the Korea Environment Institute (KEI), a national research institute, that the risk of bird collisions at the second airport would be up to 8.3 times that of the current Jeju Airport."

"The MOLIT stated in the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment that it had surveyed 13 kilometers, which is wider than the 8 kilometers outside the proposed airport site, for bird attracting facilities such as pig farms and orchards that cause bird collisions," he added, "as if it was a stricter review than global standards, but the International Civil Aviation Organization also sets a 13-kilometer radius around airports. This is because approximately 99% of bird strikes occur within a 13-kilometer radius of an airport."

The Jeju Emergency Residents' Council for Jeju 2nd Airport held a press conference at the Jeju Regional Headquarters of the Democratic Trade Union Confederation on the morning of the 4th, calling for a complete review of the Jeju 2nd Airport plan. Jeju Voice ⓒJeju Voice

"The fish farms excluded from MOLIT's field survey are Jeju's representative bird attraction facilities, where many birds gather to catch fish that flock to eat young fish or wastewater feed residue," said the Residents' Assembly. "MOLIT stated that it plans to purchase two pig farms within the scope of the survey and utilize them as separate facilities, but it described only two fish farms as representative bird attraction facilities in Jeju."

"MOLIT's surveyed fish farms are offshore fish farms, while the 78 onshore fish farms within the scope are described as fishing facilities, not fish farms. MOLIT is revealing what it can solve, such as the purchase of the two piggery farms, but reducing the impact of what it cannot."

"The Environmental Investigation Committee of the Residents' Assembly plans to focus on the damage to bird habitat and safety issues that MOLIT is trying to hide," the group said, reiterating that "MOLIT should completely reconsider its plans for a second airport."