End of Jeju 2nd Airport Listening… Conflict between pros and cons reaffirmed

On the 13th, the ‘Jeju 2nd Airport Public Hearing’, which listened to various opinions of the residents on the Jeju 2nd Airport Basic Plan (draft), was concluded.

The 4th provincial public hearing at Jeju 2nd Airport was held at the Seolmundae Women’s Cultural Center in Jeju City on the same day. Including the last 1st to 3rd provincial hearings, a total of more than 1,000 residents attended and presented various opinions on the construction of the 2nd airport in Jeju. Only a number of relevant issues were identified.

On this day, the 4th provincial public hearing proceeded in the order of explanation of the basic plan (draft) for Jeju 2nd Airport, presentation of opinions from representatives of pros and cons, and collection of opinions from the floor. Representatives of the Jeju Safety Practice Citizens’ Coalition, Park Chan-sik, the co-representative of the Jeju Values ​​of the Civic Political Solidarity, and Kim Hyeon-ji, a resident of Seongsan-eup, came as representatives from the opposite side.

First, the basic plan (draft) for Jeju’s 2nd airport was explained by Jeong Gi-myeon, director of POSCO E&C, who participated in the service. The plans and directions for the construction of the 2nd airport, such as plans ▷local coexistence plans ▷construction/operation and financing plans, were explained.

Kim Hyeon-ji, a resident of Seongsan-eup, who attended as a representative of the opposite side, pointed out the risk of bird strikes in the Seongsan-eup area and the fact that the investigation of caves and valleys was not properly conducted in the strategic environmental impact assessment of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and insisted that Jeju Island should step up and promote a joint investigation.

Co-CEO Park Chan-shik emphasized that Jeju International Airport’s facilities and systems should be improved and operated in line with the global trend and changes in airport capacity proposed in the Jeju 2nd Airport Basic Plan.

Representative Cho Seung-cheol, who is in favor of the construction of the 2nd airport, said, “The construction of the 2nd airport is the best way to disperse the capacity of Jeju International Airport, which is already in a saturated state. emphasized that it could be achieved.

Oh Byung-gwan, chairman of the promotion committee, argued that the construction of the second airport would solve the problem of late arrivals and flight cancellations, and that the eastern and western regions of Jeju City could be improved together as Jeju Airport and the second airport complemented each other.

Following this, a floor opinion presentation was held in which citizens who attended the provincial hearing freely expressed their opinions for 3 minutes.

Those in favor expressed their position that the construction of a second airport is absolutely necessary to revitalize the tourism industry, as well as to reduce the cost of air tickets due to an increase in flights when the second airport is built, and to improve air accessibility in Seogwipo and western Jeju City.

Opponents suggested that the unstable jobs created through the second airport could not be met with the quality jobs that young people wanted, and that the position of farmers who live and farm in the planned area of ​​the second airport should also be considered.

Jeju Island plans to submit the written opinions received at the provincial public hearings held four times, the pros and cons, and the public opinions collected until the end of this month as the official opinions of the Jeju 2nd Airport Basic Plan by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. .