Super-Building Plan Okayed by President but Draws Ire From Military, Residents
 By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Should a business tycoon's eagerness for a trophy skyscraper in a pricey real estate area in Seoul warrant the relocation of a military airbase at the risk of compromising security? The government, calling itself a business friendly administration, says yes with open arms.
Putting an abrupt end to years of circular debate, Lotte Group's controversial plan to construct a 112-story building in Sincheondong, southern Seoul, has been approved, despite concerns that it would be too close to Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
This would reward 14 years of persistence by Lotte Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, whose zeal for the tallest building in Korea appears to be on the borderline of personal obsession.
Since his days as Seoul mayor, President Lee Myung-bak had been supportive of Lotte's ambition for the super-tall building, which is to be part of a new amusement park the company plans to complete by 2013.
However, the Air Force had been vocal in opposing the plans, saying that the 555-meter tall building would pose a serious safety threat to aircraft flying in and out of the Seoul Airport, due to its close location to flight paths. Lotte was asked to lower the height of the building to below 200 meters.
But with Lee now in Cheong Wa Dae, military authorities are being forced to be more flexible.
In a meeting with government officials and corporate leaders earlier this year, Lee made it clear where he stands when he said ``you can't move a city but you can move a military base.''
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, who was present at the meeting, reluctantly responded by saying that the building could jeopardize the safety of dignitaries arriving at Seoul Airport and impede the operation of a fleet of jet fighters based there.
``It's not appropriate to oppose the plan just because of one or two visits by foreign dignitaries. They could use Incheon International Airport or Gimpo International Airport,'' President Lee retorted.
The exchange created a stir among military officials, who were miffed at the President for conveniently forgetting to mention Seoul Airport's role as a regularly-used military establishment, not just a greeting gate for important foreign guests.
Despite the complaints, it is looking increasingly likely that Seoul Airport will either be relocated or go under massive reconstruction to adjust the direction of its runway.
Military authorities still insist that moving the airbase should be out of consideration, but in a recent National Assembly audit, Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Gye-hoon was busy fielding questions of ``why not.''
``If you sell the current site, you would get enough money to build an airbase five times better,'' Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo suggested.
With the government firm in its support of Lotte's new building, a debate that was once based on national security and air safety is turning into money talk.
Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told the Korea Times that Lotte should be held responsible to fully finance the moving or rebuilding of the airbase. However, Lotte is balking at the suggestion, saying it is only willing to foot part of the bill.
``We are confident of finding a win-win solution,'' said a Lotte spokesman, claiming that the building's contribution as a city landmark and the economic effect generated by the ``second Lotte World'' should be taken into consideration.
Close Relationships
Lotte plans to spend around 1.7 trillion won (about $1.18 billion) to construct its new building and a department store and amusement park around it. The company bought the 87,400-square-meters site in Sincheondong in 1988.
Critics have been questioning why the government is so willing to go all-out in its support of Lotte, when logic seems to be pointing the other way.
Military officials are not alone in their frustration ― residents in Seongnam are threatening to sue the government if the plan for Lotte's new building is officially approved. They fear that an adjustment to the airport runway might cause disruption in the local real estate market by resulting in stricter height limits for new apartments to be built.
Residents in Sincheon and other neighboring areas in the Songpagu district, where major reconstruction efforts are underway, have similar complaints.
``The process of decision making should be respected,'' said Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-myung.
``The plan had been debated and unapproved for 14 years, and it is not right that the past discussions are thrown out by just one word from the president,'' he said.
Lee's constant backing of Lotte's plans is also feeding accusations of favoritism. The group appointing Chang Kyung-chak, a former Korea University classmate and close confidant of Lee, as the president and chief executive of the Lotte Hotel chain in February caught the attention of skeptics.
The suspicions grew when Lee chose a 31st floor suite at Lotte Hotel as his private office while working with his presidential transition team. It was in this room that members of the transition team found refuge from news reporters and held important discussions on redrawing government organizations.
The hotel was also where Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Choi See-joong held his now-controversial meeting with current presidential spokesman Lee Dong-gwan to discuss replacing former KBS president Jeong Yeon-ju, who had been a frequent critic of Lee.
Since Lee's inauguration, the Lotte Hotel has seen its share of government functions increase significantly. Of the eight foreign leaders who visited Korea as of June, four stayed at Lotte, while the Shilla Hotel, formerly the top choice for foreign dignitaries, hosted three and Westin Chosun hosted one.
Critics are also questioning the timing of the Defense Ministry's canning last month of former Air Force chief of staff Kim Eun-ki, whose tenure would have ended April next year, and replacing him with Lee Gye-hoon.
Kim was known to be among the fiercest critics of the plans to rebuild the runway of the Seoul Airport to allow Lotte's building.
``Personnel decisions are made flexibly in the span of one or two years, and we thought the time was right for a change to allow the new chief of staff to better prepare for his job and upcoming personnel decisions,'' Defense Minister Lee said in the National Assembly audit.
Military officials had previously demanded Lotte reduce the height of the building to a level below 200 meters. Pilots using Seoul Airport are required to keep an altitude of at least 203 meters on instrumental flights, or when they control their planes solely relying on data from instruments due to clouds and other obstacles limiting visibility in the cockpit.
So in an absolute worst-case scenario, military officials claim, a pilot could crash right into the middle of Lotte's 500-meter plus building on a cloudy day. They also pointed out that planes need to descend to a level of about 280 meters above the new building's site in order to land at the airport.
However, Lotte officials insisted the worries are exaggerated, saying the new building's location is outside of the flight safety zone reserved by current law.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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