By Lee Tae-hoon
The government announced Wednesday that it will proceed with the construction of a naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju as scheduled and inject 578.7 billion won ($517 million) to develop areas around the planned site.
“We plan to push ahead with the project and begin major construction work at an early date. Any further delay will hamper the completion of this important state-run project at an ideal time, and waste a large amount of government money,” Yim Jong-ryong, a minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
“We will try to accommodate constructive opinions of local residents, but will deal sternly with illegal attempts to obstruct the construction.”
The government plans to build an eco-friendly naval base that will also be used as a luxury commercial dock by 2015.
However, a technical verification committee under the PMO recently pointed out that 150,000-ton cruise ships may not be able to safely navigate the new port.
In this regard, Yim said the government has decided to make minor modifications to the original construction plan, and will deploy tugboats to counter any possible problems in the maneuvering of large ships.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety (MOPAS), the central government will carry out 37 projects to improve the livelihood of people near the naval site with a total budget of 1.08 trillion won from this year through 2021.
MOPAS said in a press release that the Jeju government and private investors will shoulder 171 billion won and 327.4 billion won of the cost, respectively, while the central government will provide 578.7 billion won.
The list of the projects includes the construction of a Navy museum, a shopping district, five parks and a range of advanced farming systems.
The move, however, will likely face strong resistance from opposition parties, anti-base activists, Jeju islanders and the Jeju Provincial Assembly that have rejected the defense ministry’s simulations for the assessment of large vessels’ maneuvering safety.
The Jeju Assembly submitted a complaint to the PMO, saying that the simulations did not reflect the recommendations outlined in the technical verification committee’s report.
The naval base project was launched in 2007 during the previous administration of the late President Roh Moo-hyun but little progress has been made in construction due to mounting resistance.
Opponents staged protests against it, arguing that the militarization of the resort island will only provoke Beijing and Tokyo to beef up their military presence and stir up regional instability.
Jeju Island lies south of the Korean Peninsula between China and Japan.
Proponents, however, claim that the operation of the new base will be strictly defensive in nature and is the least a country surrounded by superpowers can do to protect its sovereignty.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said it was time for Korea to put an end to “unnecessary political controversy and wasteful social discord,” and unite to build an excellent naval base and further develop Jeju.
The joint naval base is designed to accommodate more than 20 warships, including three Aegis destroyers, and provide mooring for two cruisers or an aircraft carrier, according to a senior Navy officer.