[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The push for a new airport in the southeastern region is expected to be engulfed more by political interests than economic logic. As the ruling and opposition parties move to enact a special law for the construction of Gadeokdo New Airport instead of Gimhae New Airport, public opinion is divided on the issue. The nation is heading toward a split in consensus.
According to the government and political circles on the 22nd, members of the opposition People Power Party from Busan proposed the 'Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act' on the 20th. This came just three days after the Prime Minister's Office Verification Committee announced the results of the Gimhae New Airport review. The bill calls for the swift promotion of Gadeok New Airport as an alternative to Gimhae New Airport.
The ruling Democratic Party is also expected to propose a special airport law as early as next week, accelerating efforts from both sides to push forward the Gadeok New Airport project.
Given this situation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the responsible ministry, has somewhat changed its stance. During the initial controversy over the re-verification of Gimhae New Airport, the ministry had taken a principled position, stating, "If Gimhae New Airport is rejected, the site selection process must start over from scratch," but it has since stepped back.
On the 17th, the Ministry expressed a humble acceptance of the Prime Minister's Office Verification Committee's conclusion that a fundamental re-examination of Gimhae New Airport is necessary.
In a reference document, the Ministry stated, "The Prime Minister's Office Verification Committee announced that the basic plan for Gimhae New Airport is difficult to respond to future changes such as expansion, and that if local governments oppose, mountain obstacle removal is necessary, so a fundamental review as a gateway airport for the southeastern region is required. The Ministry will humbly accept the verification results in accordance with the agreement made with the three local government heads of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam in June last year."
The problem is that the Verification Committee appears to interpret the decision to re-examine Gimhae New Airport somewhat differently from the political circles.
Kim Soo-sam, honorary professor of civil engineering at Hanyang University and chairman of the Verification Committee, recently stated in a media interview, "We never said that Gimhae New Airport cannot be used; our nuance was that if it can be supplemented and used, then proceed with Gimhae New Airport."
In the interview, Chairman Kim said, "We did not say it was unsuitable as a gateway airport and concluded it was feasible. We never considered scrapping or abandoning Gimhae New Airport. We never said it cannot be used."
Some members from both ruling and opposition parties also oppose the reckless push for Gadeokdo New Airport, wary of national projects being swayed by political interests.
The government and ruling party immediately faced criticism for reversing a national project that had been dragged on for four years due to political interests related to next year's Busan mayoral by-election.
In fact, in the 'Yeongnam Region New Airport Candidate Site Evaluation Results' conducted by France's Paris Airport Engineering (ADPi) in 2016, the Gimhae Airport expansion plan was overwhelmingly ranked first. Gadeokdo was rated the lowest, even behind Miryang.
At that time, ADPi evaluated Gadeokdo as "not only costly but also difficult to construct," and "unsuitable as a natural airport site." Gadeokdo was also eliminated in the 2011 government selection of the Yeongnam Region New Airport site because its cost-benefit ratio (B/C) fell below the project feasibility criterion of 1.0.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has not yet finalized specific plans related to Gadeokdo New Airport. A ministry official said, "We have just received the Prime Minister's Office verification report, so there are many matters to review," and refrained from further comment.
Regarding this change in attitude, some argue that since the Prime Minister's Office Verification Committee has been activated, the Ministry had no choice, while others point out that the Ministry has been pressured by political forces.
Earlier, on the 6th of this month, conflicts between the ruling party and government were exposed over the 2 billion won budget for the feasibility study of Gadeokdo New Airport at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.
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