Gwangju Airport is turning into a hot political potato between the two local governments. / Korea Times File Photo |
 By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Two top local government leaders in the southwestern region are fighting over which of the two major airports in the area ― Muan International Airport of South Jeolla Province or Gwangju Airport ― will serve as the destination for domestic air connections. The latter had been expected to close after the two-year-old Muan International had become more established.
However, Gwangju Mayor Park Gwang-tae made it clear Monday that he intends to keep Gwangju Airport open and add international routes to several Chinese destinations, despite strong opposition from South Jeolla Province.
In an effort to stimulate the underutilized Muan International Airport, South Jeolla Gov. Park Jun-young has been seeking the operation of domestic routes flying to and from Gwangju Airport, which runs routes to Gunsan, Daegu, Gimhae, Seoul, Yeosu, Ulsan, Pohang and other major Korean cities.
“From the industry’s point of view, it is necessary to keep domestic lines at Gwangju Airport,” Mayor Park Gwang-tae said at a press conference in Gwangju. “We will also seek permission to allow the operation of international routes to Beijing and Shanghai.”
He maintained that running domestic flights at Gwangju Airport was a necessity for the region’s growth, even after the 2014 expansion of the KTX train lines to the region is completed.
South Jeolla Province released a statement Sunday, urging the cooperation of the central government, Gwangju City and the Korea Airport Corporation in the transfer of domestic lines to Muan International Airport.
“The Muan International Airport is and should be the main airport serving the southwestern region. It is the result of a state project initiated on the condition that the existing airports in Gwangju and Mokpo give up their domestic operations,” the statement said.
The airport issue between South Jeolla and Gwangju is expected to become a major political issue ahead of the local elections in June 2010.
The ministry said that it would conduct a survey of citizens in the southwestern region to find out how they feel about transferring domestic operations from Gwangju Airport to Muan.
Muan International Airport, 385 kilometers southwest of Seoul, opened in 2007 after eight years of construction at a cost of 305.6 billion won and, currently, runs flights to 11 international destinations, including Shenyang and Shanghai in China, and Taipei, Taiwan, and has pushed for chartered flights to Japan and Southeast Asia.
However, its initial aim of becoming the signature airport in the country’s southwestern area has dimmed due to huge losses stemming from underutilization.
The airport has a potential capacity for 140,000 takeoffs and landings per year, a large runway and taxiway, and a terminal that can accommodate up to 5.19 million passengers per year, according to the ministry.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
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