Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
Disputes rise again over Gimhae airport expansion
Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don gives a congratulatory message at Gimhae International Airport, Dec. 27, as the airport marked 10 million passengers on international routes. / Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
The central and local governments are in a deadlock over the expansion of Gimhae International Airport in Busan, as the local authorities and civic groups there call for the revival of a previously scrapped plan to build a new airport nearby.
Local government heads in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province plan to ask the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure and Transport to conduct another feasibility study. They claim the government needs to construct a new 24-hour airport with a capacity to deal with mid- to long-distance international flights and the rapidly growing number of passengers, a capacity Gimhae lacks.
Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don has been emphasizing the need to construct a new international airport on Gadeok Island off Busan. He rebuffed the ministry's claim that, once expanded, the Gimhae airport will fulfill all requirements under the international standard to become a gateway airport.
“The construction of a new airport in the southeastern area will help the balance of national development and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula by becoming a hub airport that connects the continent and the sea,” Oh said during a New Year press conference, Thursday.
He said the Gimhae airport has severe safety and noise problems, calling for a reassessment of the airport expansion.
The construction of a new airport, a long-disputed political issue in the region, was one of Oh's key campaign pledges during the local elections last June.
Not only Oh but also Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho and South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kyoung-soo as well as other heads of city governments in the region plan to request the Prime Minister's Office and the transport ministry establish a committee to verify whether the Gimhae expansion was the best choice.
Civic groups in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province also plan to sign petitions at Cheong Wa Dae in hope of getting an official response from the presidential office, which makes it a rule to respond to petitions exceeding 200,000 supporting signatures.
“The ministry's proposal only expands the current airport. It cannot accommodate mid- to long-range flights for passenger and cargo demands. It cannot be a 24-hour southeastern hub airport,” the groups said, urging the government to scrap the Gimhae expansion plan.
The ministry, however, remains firm with the expansion plan, saying it has not found any “grave errors” in the plan and no claims raised by the municipalities were reasonably acceptable.
It said the expanded Gimhae airport would be able to accommodate 40 million passengers annually, an over six-fold increase in capacity from 5.9 million in 2016, with about half of the costs needed for building a new airport.
The new airport plan in the region started with the President Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2006, but conflicts continued over its proposed location. Former President Lee Myung-bak pushed the plan as an election promise, only to scrap it in 2011 as competition to host the airport overheated.
President Park Geun-hye also brought up the issue again with two preferred sites of Gadeok Island and Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province. In 2016, however, the ministry concluded both sites were economically unfeasible and decided to expand Gimhae airport instead.
The cost for constructing an additional runway and related facilities there is nearly 6 trillion won ($5.35 billion), and work is scheduled for completion by 2026.