Cultural Heritage Administration Granted Operation Permit Based Solely on Investigation of Tourist Submarine Company

Eleven Extensions Over 22 Years Since 1988
"Irresponsible Permits Caused Damage to Yeonsanho Coral Colony"

The Cultural Heritage Administration's basis for permitting the operation of tourist submarines around Munseom Island in Seogwipo, Jeju, was revealed to be the self-monitoring results of the company involved. According to materials disclosed on the 11th by Lee Byung-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party, the Cultural Heritage Administration allowed Company A to extend its operation around Munseom Island eleven times over 22 years since 1988. However, until 2015, the basis for judging whether the branching coral colonies were damaged was the monitoring results conducted by Company A itself.

Some cultural heritage committee members raised concerns about the reliability, leading to a change in the verification method. Based on a research service result submitted by expert committee member B at the end of 2016, the operation permit was reissued. However, the entity that commissioned this research service was also Company A. The assemblyman stated, "Mr. B is the only branching coral expert among the Cultural Heritage Committee's expert members," and added, "He is currently under investigation by the Coast Guard on suspicion of falsifying the report submitted to the Cultural Heritage Committee."

The branching coral colonies are natural monuments in the 'animal' category. Over the past decade, Mr. B was the only related expert listed in the natural monuments subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Committee. Most other members specialized in 'birds' or 'mammals.'

Assemblyman Lee pointed out, "In a situation where a connection with Company A, which applied for the extension permit, could be suspected, the Cultural Heritage Administration extended the operation without any special measures," and criticized, "This irresponsible approval resulted in damage to the branching coral colonies." He further emphasized, "During the Cultural Heritage Committee's review process, the reliability of materials must be thoroughly examined, and institutional measures should be established to exclude experts with conflicts of interest."