Spat heats up over new intt airport
By Park Si-soo
Two southern cities are increasingly at odds with each other as the competition for a new international airport heats up.
The fierce race is expected to continue through March when the government chooses either Gadeok Island or Miryang as the venue for the new airport to relieve overcrowding at Gimhae International Airport in Busan.
Politicians from the bid cities are fueling the spat, while the government’s dispute settlement system has remained idle for years.
Last Wednesday, about 3,000 members from 400 civic groups based in North Gyeongsang Province staged a rally at a public park in Daegu, demanding Miryang be designated as the venue for the new airport.
“Given its geographical location, Miryang is the best place for the new airport,” they said in a statement. “It is located in the middle of South and North Gyeongsang Provinces, making it possible for all people in the two provinces to reach it within one hour.” Key members of the groups shaved their heads during the rally, showing they were desperate to win the large-scale construction project.
Two female council members of the region will openly have their heads shaved at a square in downtown Seoul on Feb. 7, a move intended to draw public support to the campaign. And nearly 100,000 people will stage a rally in Miryang on Feb. 10.
Some 20,000 people from 460 civic groups in Busan rose up against its rival’s action last Thursday. They hung hundreds of banners with messages supporting Gadeok Island across Busan.
“The new airport will face ‘red-ink operations’ in Miryang since it’s surrounded by mountains. Busan has better accessibility by public transportation than Miryang,” they said in a statement. “The new airport should make it possible for people to use air transportation more safely and conveniently than Gimhae. Gadeok Island meets all the preconditions.”
Construction of a new international airport in the southeastern part of the country was one of the key commitments of President Lee Myung-bak during his presidential campaign in 2007. President Lee reaffirmed the need to open a new airport in an address in October 2009, saying, “It is essential to have a new airport in the southern region to boost the area’s economic condition to the level of Seoul.”
In 2010 alone, around 8 million people took domestic and international travels via Gimhae International Airport and the number is expected to exceed 10 million in a couple of years. The government has predicted that the 10 million mark will arrive around 2025, but it looks like it will come far earlier than expected due to soaring traffic volume, experts say.
Politicians from the cities have joined the showdown, putting a political twist on the economic project.
Rep. Lee Sang-deuk of the ruling Grand National Party, the elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak, is the most active. The senior Lee, whose political home turf is Pohang, has openly demanded the new airport be located in neighboring Miryang.
The socio-political dispute is snowballing with no immediate sign of letting up. But the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime is still taking a wait-and-see approach. The ministry has run dispute control units since 2005, but none of them have been employed since 2009, said Rep. Jang Jae-won, citing a state document.