Ulleung islanders question runway safety as airport nears completion

Residents of Ulleung Island protest outside the construction management office of the island’s airport project, Nov. 6, demanding that the government extend the airport’s planned runway to ensure flight safety. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan

ULLEUNG ISLAND, North Gyeongsang Province — A state-run airport construction project on Ulleung Island has reached nearly 70 percent completion this month, but is facing strong local opposition to its current design.

Some local residents are concerned that the coastal airport’s 1,200-meter runway is too short to ensure flight safety, urging the government to extend the structure — whose underwater foundation, built 30 meters below sea level, has already been completed. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has rejected the demand, calling it unnecessary.

The islanders initially welcomed the project when the airport was categorized as a “2C” facility — a classification under the International Civil Aviation Organization standards and domestic aviation law set by the ministry, which requires a minimum runway length of 800 to 1,200 meters and limits operations to aircraft with wingspans between 24 and 36 meters.

However, three years after construction began in 2020, the ministry reclassified the airport as a “3C” facility, which requires a minimum runway length of between 1,200 and 1,800 meters.

The decision came after the government determined that a 2C classification — which limits aircraft capacity to 50 seats or fewer — would be economically unviable. Upgrading to 3C and allowing aircraft with up to 80 seats would help address the profitability issue.

A rendering of the planned Ulleung Island Airport / Courtesy of Ulleung County Office

The government is currently developing measures such as installing runway lights, enhancing weather forecasting systems, adding a localizer and securing a runway end safety area to ensure the airport’s current design remains safe despite the category change.

The residents, however, are not happy with the current design, claiming that it cannot accommodate 80-seat aircraft and should be extended to 1,500 meters to prevent fatal accidents.

A Jeju Air flight that crashed while landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province last December, killing 179 people, still haunts the island’s residents.

Ulleung County head Nam Han-kwon shares their concerns.

“The airport is being built under some of the country’s harshest weather conditions, with frequent strong gusts, so its safety should be prioritized above all. However, despite expanding to accommodate 80-seat aircraft, the airport retains its original design. This increases the risk of accidents during takeoff and landing and threatens the airport’s long-term operation,” the residents said in a statement.

The government, however, downplayed the concerns, insisting that adequate safety measures will be implemented. It added that altering the current plan would cost an additional 1 trillion won ($681 million) and extend the construction period by three years.

“Extending the runway from its current design will disrupt radar from a navy base operating on the island. Besides, the airport will be limited to servicing small-size airplanes. For pilots in those planes, 1,200 meters or 1,500 meters doesn’t mean much difference,” said Kim Hyun-gi of Korea Engineering Consultants Corp., head of the project’s construction management.

Built partially on reclaimed land, with a runway strip measuring 1,320 meters by 150 meters, the project is described by the government as having the world’s highest engineering difficulty. To create a concrete foundation at the island’s deepest ocean level, 30 caissons were manufactured in Pohang, 210 kilometers away on the southeast coast, and transported to the island over the course of 35 months. Each caisson stands as tall as a 12-story apartment and weighs 16,000 tons, making them the largest ever used in a construction project in Korea.

To create the 430,000-square-meter site, a nearby mountain is being excavated to provide enough earth to raise the area by 46 meters.

The airport, funded with 662 billion won from the government and 217 billion won from Korea Airports Corp., is scheduled for completion in 2027.