Publication of the Gyeonggi International Airport Deliberative Polling Report... Recommendations Included

Cover of the Deliberative Public Opinion Survey White Paper on the Construction of Gyeonggi International Airport

The Deliberative Public Report on Gyeonggi International Airport has been released.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 4th that it conducted the "Gyeonggi International Airport Construction Public Deliberation Survey" over five months from April to August and recently published the survey results compiled into a white paper.

The public deliberation survey on the construction of Gyeonggi International Airport was conducted with the agenda of "the future vision of Gyeonggi International Airport desired by residents." A first-round public opinion survey was conducted with 3,000 residents, followed by second and third-round surveys and face-to-face deliberative discussions with 206 residents who expressed willingness to participate in the deliberation.

This deliberation survey was designed and implemented as an open discussion method to allow residents to directly participate, envision the future, and derive a vision, rather than simply asking for opinions for or against the construction of Gyeonggi International Airport.

As a result of the deliberation survey, the agreement rate on the necessity of constructing Gyeonggi International Airport was 51% among 3,000 respondents in the first survey, increased to 64% in the second survey with 206 resident participants, and further rose to 72% in the third survey after deliberative discussions. This indicates that residents' empathy for the necessity of constructing Gyeonggi International Airport grew stronger through repeated learning and discussions.

Regarding the construction direction of Gyeonggi International Airport, 41% of the 206 resident participants selected a global economic airport supporting national advanced strategic industries as their first priority. This was followed by a regional economic revitalization hub airport (24%), an eco-friendly carbon-neutral airport (17%), and a customer-tailored smart airport (16%).

Expected benefits from the construction of Gyeonggi International Airport included contributions to national economic development through advanced industry exports and air cargo transportation (84%), regional economic revitalization through transportation, tourism, and job creation (75%), and improved accessibility and convenience of airport use (75%).

Concerns regarding the construction included environmental issues and noise in nearby areas caused by the airport construction (89%) and the budget burden involved in building the airport (87%).

Accordingly, the Public Deliberation Committee on Gyeonggi International Airport Construction prepared a "policy recommendation" based on the survey results, incorporating various opinions, expectations, and concerns expressed by residents during the deliberation process, and included it in the white paper.

The policy recommendations include ▲ actively providing related information to gain residents' consensus ▲ establishing a macro strategy to become a global economic airport and economic hub airport ▲ developing future response strategies to become a customer-tailored smart airport and an eco-friendly carbon-neutral airport ▲ conducting thorough monitoring of environmental and noise issues and maintaining continuous communication with residents ▲ and establishing institutional measures to prevent and mediate disputes.

Lee Sun-woo, Chairperson of the Resident Deliberation Committee overseeing the deliberation survey, stated, "The construction of Gyeonggi International Airport is an important agenda not only for Gyeonggi Province but also for the future of the Republic of Korea. Through the deliberation survey, we strived to properly understand and reflect the future image and values of the international airport desired by residents." She added, "We hope that the construction of Gyeonggi International Airport will be successfully promoted based on the residents' opinions contained in the policy recommendations and the white paper."