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Thu, August 11, 2022 | 08:38
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New THAAD site still faces high hurdles
성산포대→성주골프장으로…79일만에 바뀐 사드 '최적지'
Posted : 2016-09-30 17:16
Updated : 2016-10-01 23:05
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By Jun Ji-hye

The government made it official Friday that a country club owned by Lotte Group in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, will be an alternate site for the deployment of a controversial U.S. anti-missile battery.

The decision came about 80 days after the Ministry of National Defense announced in July that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery will be deployed at the South Korean Air Force's air defense base in Seongsan-ri in the county by the end of next year.

The reversal of the initial decision is expected to resolve protests from Seongju residents over concerns about detrimental health and environmental effects from electromagnetic waves emitted by the AN/TPY-2 radar ― they had said the Seongsan artillery unit was too close to residential areas.

But at the same time, the decision is causing fresh protests from residents living in Gimcheon as the city is close to Lotte Skyhill Country Club.

The ministry is also expected to face protests from religious groups as a sacred site for Won Buddhism is located 500 meters from the club. Besides protests, the ministry also needs to negotiate with Lotte Group to purchase the land.

Ministry officials visited Seongju County earlier in the day to brief Kim Hang-gon, the governor of the county, and Bae Jae-man, the head of the county council, on the decision to deploy the THAAD battery to the golf club located on Mt. Dalma in the Chojeon Township of the county.

"The ministry said its evaluation showed that Mt. Dalma was the optimal location for THAAD compared to two other candidates, Mt. Yeomsok and Mt. Kkachi," Bae told reporters.

Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo also met with North Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kwan-yong and explained the ministry's decision.

Lotte stuck in dilemma on THAAD
2016-09-30 18:36  |  Companies

The ministry, however, refused to make an official announcement about the decision at the ministry headquarters in Seoul despite a barrage of requests from journalists, apparently wary of potential controversy and protests that could be caused later. It just said its briefing to the county and the province amounted to its official announcement.

Residents of Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, protest the government's decision to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery at the Lotte Skyhill Country Club during a press conference at its city hall, Friday. The golf course is located near Gimcheon. / Yonhap

When asked about why the ministry refused to make an official announcement publicly, an official said it had to consider the "feelings" of the residents.


In July, the ministry announced that the Seongsan artillery unit as the location for THAAD after months of deliberations, but the announcement immediately caused severe protests from local residents who said the decision was made without consulting them. Seoul and Washington had to review a new site in response to such protests.

The two nations began evaluations of the three alternative candidate sites at the end of last month.

According to data submitted to the National Assembly, the ministry concluded that Mt. Yeomsok in Geumsu Township and Mt. Kkachi in Suryun Township were unsuitable as construction to remove the mountain peaks and build other infrastructure would be required there, meaning that deploying the system by next year would be almost impossible.

On the other hand, the infrastructure and accessibility of the golf course is better than other mountains, because a road from the town to the golf course has already been built.

Officials said the ministry will begin to work to acquire the land of the golf club. Lotte Group possesses the 960,000 square-meter 18-hole golf course and the 820,000 square-meter adjacent forest there. The group purchased the 820,000 square-meter forest land earlier to construct nine additional holes.

If the group agrees to sell the land, the ministry is expected to pay about 100 billion won for it. Opposition lawmakers point out that the use of the state budget is subject to approval by the National Assembly. Once the issue is brought up in the Assembly, nobody can be sure how long it will take for lawmakers to complete deliberations, given that opposition parties have been expressing their disagreement with the deployment.

Mindful of this, the ministry is reportedly considering an exchange of land with the golf club giving it an equivalent area from military holdings.

The golf club is located at an altitude of 680 meters above sea level, which is higher than the Seongsan air defense base, located at an altitude of 380 meters. The club is also 18 kilometers away from any residential areas in Seongju. From the ministry's point of view, those conditions were apparently better to ease the residents' concerns over the safety of the radar.




성산포대→성주골프장으로…79일만에 바뀐 사드 '최적지'

한미 군 당국은 지난 7월 13일 사드(THAAD·고고도 미사일 방어체계)를 경북 성주군의 성산포대에 배치할 계획이라고 공식 발표했다.

류제승 국방부 국방정책실장은 당시 기자회견에서 성산포대를 두고 '사드 체계의 군사적 효용성을 극대화하고 지역주민의 안전을 보장하면서 건강과 환경에 영향이 없는 최적의 사드배치 부지'라고 설명했다.

그러나 국방부가 30일 오후 사드를 성주군 초전면 성주골프장에 배치한다고 최종 발표할 것으로 알려지면서 '최적의 사드배치 부지'는 79일 만에 바뀌게 됐다. 

이를 두고 한미 군 당국이 애초에 부지를 치밀하게 선정하지 않아 혼란만 초래한 게 아니냐는 비판도 나온다.

국방부는 이에 대해 '당초 군은 비용과 소요 기간 등을 감안해 국유지만을 대상으로 부지를 선정해 성주골프장을 고려할 수 없었다'고 설명했다.

군사적 효용성이 성산포대 못지않고 주민 반발도 최소화할 수 있는 부지가 인근에 있었는데도 사유지라는 이유로 이를 처음부터 고려하지 않았다는 것은 선뜻 이해하기 힘들다는 지적도 나온다.

무엇보다 북한의 탄도미사일을 방어할 핵심무기의 배치 장소를 여론에 밀려 변경한 좋지 못한 선례를 남겼다는 비판은 국방부 입장에서는 뼈 아픈 지적일 것으로 보인다. 앞으로 이번과 유사한 사안에서 국방부가 원칙을 지키기 힘들어질 수 있을 것이란 우려감도 이 때문이다.

앞서 한미 군 당국이 지난 7월 성산포대를 사드배치 장소로 발표하자 성주 주민들은 격렬히 반발했다.

사드 레이더가 내뿜는 전자파 유해성에 대한 논란이 가시지 않은 상황에서 갑자기 배치 부지가 발표되자 '사드 참외' 등 온갖 비과학적인 유언비어들이 양산됐다. 성산포대에서 불과 1.5㎞ 떨어진 성주읍에 1만4천여 명의 주민이 살고 있는 것도 유해성 논란을 키웠다.

사드배치 유력지인 경북 성주군 초전면 성주골프장.[연합뉴스 자료사진]

황교안 총리가 성주에 내려가 설득을 시도했지만 6시간 넘게 고립되며 성난 민심을 확인할 뿐이었다.

한미는 미군이 괌에서 운용하는 사드 포대를 한국 취재진에 공개하며 안전에 대한 우려를 불식하기 위해 노력했지만 주민들을 설득하기에는 한계가 있었다.

괌 사드 포대 레이더에서 방출된 전자파를 1.5㎞ 떨어진 곳에서 측정해 보니 가정에서 전자레인지를 돌리는 수준으로 측정됐다. 하지만 이런 측정치로도 격렬한 성주 민심을 돌리는 데는 역부족이었다.

해법이 보이지 않던 사드배치 문제는 박근혜 대통령이 부지 이전 가능성을 언급하면서 새 국면을 맞게 됐다.

박 대통령은 8월 4일 청와대에서 진행된 TK 의원들과의 간담회에서 '성주군민의 불안감을 덜어드리기 위해 성주군에서 추천하는 새로운 지역이 있다면 면밀히 조사 검토하고, 그 조사 결과를 정확하고 상세하게 국민께 알려드리겠다'고 말했다.

이에 따라 요지부동이던 국방부도 '성산포대가 최적지'라는 입장에서 물러나 '성주지역에서 다른 부지 가용성 검토를 요청하면 평가 기준에 따라 검토할 것'이라고 한 발 뒤로 물러섰다.

국방부는 지난달 22일 '성주군과 협조해 빠른 시일 내 제3후보지를 평가하겠다'고 공식 발표했고, 일주일 뒤인 29일 초전면 성주골프장과 금수면 염속봉산, 수륜면 까치산 등 후보지 3곳에 대한 평가에 착수했다.

한 달여에 걸친 평가 끝에 나온 결론은 성주골프장이었다. 기존 발표 부지였던 성산포대보다도 여러 면에서 최적지라는 설명이 국방부 관계자들 입에서 나오고 있다. (연합뉴스)
Emailjjh@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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