By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Lotte Group, the country's No.5 family-owned conglomerate, has waited more than a decade for the green light for its project to build a 112-story skyscraper near its famous indoor theme park, Lotte World, in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul.
In the initial stages, Seoul City opposed the construction on worries about possible air pollution and traffic congestions in the densely populated area.
As it tried to find common ground with the metropolitan government with a commitment to donations for environmental protection, the Air Force got in the way, raising safety concerns about airplanes using nearby Seoul Airport. The airport is closed to the public and used only for foreign guests visiting the country and military purposes.
The ban by the military looked rock-solid and Lotte was unable to find a breakthrough for the creation of the so-called Seoul's Burj Dubai, until President Lee Myung-bak took up the case.
In a startling turn of events, Lee instructed his Cabinet to study ways to approve the construction following a policy coordination meeting with business leaders in April.
The Defense Ministry raised safety risks for foreigners using the airport, but the former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction refuted, ``There are other airports we can provide for them. We can move the airport, but can't move the city.''
The episode stunned many military officers. Some military experts criticized Lee for his lack of concern for national security and stressed the importance of the airport for the defense of the capital area. On the other side, Lotte hailed Lee's approach to resolve the long-standing dispute.
Top defense officials were quick to accept the suggestion from the pragmatic head of state.
Reports said military authorities are now considering building a new runway at the Seoul Airport, located in Seongnam, south of Seoul, or moving aircrafts to other bases.
In response to the reports, the Air Force said it was dealing with the matter cautiously, but there was a clear difference in its attitude toward Lotte from the past.
``Most Air Force officials still think it is a nonsense to let Lotte build a high-rise tower at the expense of the Seoul Airport, which has served for decades as a key air base,'' a defense official said on condition of anonymity. ``Given the strategic importance of the airport, Lee should think twice before making any decision. I'm concerned that he may attempt to transform the Seoul Airport into a residential or business complex later.''
Kim Seong-jun, a military strategist in Seoul, said the airport is home to a number of reconnaissance planes, helicopters and transport aircraft. It plays an important role in collecting, analyzing and supplying intelligence on North Korea's military activities near the border.
``President Lee is trying to close the airport to allow Lotte to build the tower,'' Kim said. ``Lee should realize that he is not the mayor of Seoul, but the country's top military commander that is responsible for national defense.''
According to reports, options now being considered include closing an old runway and building a new one in a different direction to remove the possibility of an aircraft collision with the tower, moving planes to other air bases and downsizing the airport into a heliport.
No matter what option is chosen, it will require a huge amount of taxpayers' money, and may stir strong public protests. Lotte has said it can share the financial burden caused by the overhaul of the airport's operation to some extent, but that it is impossible to cover the full expense.
Military officials say Seoul needs to put top priority on improving defense capabilities to counter possible attacks from Pyongyang, but no one knows what ideas Lee has to build a stronger military. Lee has announced a series of steps to boost economic recovery, including corporate tax cuts and removal of restrictions on private enterprises, but is simply toeing the line of the United States in dealing with the communist regime, critics say.
The case of Lotte's skyscraper, called ``The second Lotte World,'' shows Lee, who was elected in December on an economic platform, puts a greater emphasis on economic growth than military reinforcement.
On May 27, newspapers reported Seoul is positively considering a U.S. offer to sell second-hand AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, an offer that could lead Seoul to drop its multibillion-dollar project to develop its own brand of attack helicopters.
``Seoul is considering buying used copters from the U.S. simply for financial reasons. It is much cheaper to import used copters than to develop and manufacture them,'' said Won Tae-jae, a Defense Ministry spokesman.
As for North Korea, Lee said he respects U.S. President George W. Bush's diplomatic efforts to have the North abandon its nuclear weapons programs during a summit at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, April 18-19. Lee even said he will work together with the United States to address human rights violations in the North, provoking hostile rhetoric from Pyongyang.
This year, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) froze troop reductions in South Korea at the current 28,000, although the two nations had agreed in 2004 to phase down the number of USFK members by 12,000 to 25,000 by the year's end.
From an economic viewpoint, Lee has been an ideal president.
He has called for more lenient policies toward chaebol, or family-owned conglomerates, a demand that experts say would spur a rise in corporate investments, but can raise the country's dependence on chaebol for economic development. He pledged to abolish rules that hold conglomerates from keeping up with fast-moving global trends, calling enterprises the economic growth engine.
Lee's remarks on Lotte is already fueling home prices in Jamsil and adjacent areas, while housing markets in other places in Seoul remain sluggish.
Prices of small-sized apartments in Jamsil rose 0.5 percent in the fourth week of May from a week earlier, while most of other Seoul areas recorded slight falls, according to Doctor Apart, a Seoul-based housing consultancy.
``Since there was news about the government's move to give the go-ahead for Lotte's construction of the second Lotte World, demand for homes in the area has been slowly picking up,'' said Lee Jin-yeong from Doctor Apart. ``Expectations are high here that the construction of the tower will raise the values of real estate here and prompt developers to seek licenses for new buildings.''