The Ministry of Environment has given its consent regarding the construction project of Jeju Second Airport. This comes two years after the project was halted in 2021 due to inadequacies such as the protection of legally protected species and bird habitat conservation measures.
On the 6th, the Ministry of Environment announced that it had notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of a "conditional consent" opinion on the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment report for the establishment of the "Jeju Second Airport Development Basic Plan." The Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment is a system under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act whereby administrative agencies consult with the Ministry of Environment on environmental aspects before finalizing administrative plans that may affect the environment.
The Jeju Second Airport project was first initiated in 2005 to address the aging and saturation issues of the existing Jeju International Airport. The plan involves constructing a new airport with one 3.2 km-long runway on approximately 5,457,000㎡ (about 6.5 million pyeong) in Onpyeong-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju, with a capacity to accommodate 19.92 million passengers annually and a project cost of 6.6674 trillion KRW.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must reflect the Ministry of Environment's conditional consultation opinion in the "Jeju Second Airport Basic Plan," and before approving the subsequent implementation plan, it must consult with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the environmental impact assessment in accordance with the "Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Creation of an International Free City."
Previously, in July 2021, the Ministry of Environment had rejected the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment report for the establishment of the "Jeju Second Airport Development Basic Plan" due to "insufficient supplementary content." In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport conducted additional research for a year and supplemented the report, requesting consultation again from the Ministry of Environment on January 5 of this year.
After review by specialized institutions such as the Korea Environment Institute, the Ministry of Environment recognized the consistency with higher-level and related plans, and that the supplements addressing the reasons for rejection were appropriately reflected in the assessment report, thereby acknowledging the site feasibility and issuing a conditional consultation.
The Ministry of Environment explained that it notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the detailed opinions from the review institutions on the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment report so that these could be reflected in the environmental impact assessment report to be consulted with Jeju Province. First, it ensured that sufficient information would be provided to local residents and Jeju Province during the administrative plan finalization and subsequent environmental impact assessment process, and that various issues raised would be reviewed and reflected in the relevant plans and project approvals.
Additionally, to prevent bird strikes for aviation safety and to protect bird habitats accordingly, a specific bird strike risk management plan must be established in advance and presented in the environmental impact assessment report. The Ministry of Environment stated, "Regarding previously raised concerns such as aircraft noise impact and countermeasures, protection of legally protected species, and the impact on limestone caves, thorough detailed surveys and mitigation measures must be rigorously pursued."
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