Court rules to halt Saemangeum airport project over environmental threats, bird strike risks

Activists hold a press conference in Seoul after walking 250 kilometers from North Jeolla Province to protest the Saemangeum airport project and advocate for wetland conservation, Monday. Yonhap

Korea’s administrative court delivered a landmark ruling to halt the Saemangeum Airport project Thursday, citing severe environmental damage and a heightened risk of bird strikes, in a decision widely hailed by activists but criticized by local officials.

The Seoul Administrative Court canceled the basic plan for Saemangeum International Airport development, concluding that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had failed to adequately assess environmental threats. Presiding Judge Lee Joo-young said the project poised “a higher risk of bird strikes than any other operating airport in the nation” and lacked a sound plan for minimizing ecological damage.

According to data, the airport site in North Jeolla Province was projected to face up to 45 bird collisions annually within a 13-kilometer radius, compared with three at Incheon International Airport and less than one at other regional airports. The figure was 610 times higher than Muan Airport’s rate of 0.07.

The ruling drew particular weight from the fact that Muan, despite its relatively low risk level, was the site of a fatal passenger jet accident in December 2024 and stressed that if such a tragedy could occur in Muan, the significantly higher risk at Saemangeum posed “an unprecedented safety hazard."

The court said planners also neglected to present specific measures to mitigate harm to the protected species that inhabit the Sura tidal flat, which is directly linked to the migratory routes of birds on the East Asian-Australasian flyway, and the UNESCO-listed Seocheon tidal flats.

“The project would destroy vital resting grounds for migratory birds and erode biodiversity,” Lee said, “Evidence presented by scholars and surveys supports this conclusion, and the ministry has not convincingly refuted these findings.”

A dump truck carries reclamation soil along the Sura tidal flat as black-faced spoonbills forage near a construction site for Saemangeum International Airport in this 2019 photo. Korea Times file

The Saemangeum International Airport project was first included in the government’s 2016 aviation development plan and launched as part of flagship balanced-growth initiatives in 2019. It originally aimed to open in 2029 at a cost of 800 billion won ($580 million).

The court’s decision followed years of opposition from conservationists, including the civic coalition Saemangeum Airport Nullification Action, which filed the lawsuit in 2022. After the ruling, activists outside the courthouse wept and cheered.

“We have protected life today. The judges stood on the side of life, and for that, we thank them,” said co-director Kim Ji-eun, who has campaigned against the project for four years.

Attorney Choi Jae-hong, who represented the plaintiffs, called the judgment “a historic ruling that curbs the reckless expansion of airports nationwide,” pointing to similar controversies on Gadeok Island and Jeju Island.

The ministry said it would “respect the ruling and thoroughly review the verdict before deciding its next steps.”

However, North Jeolla Gov. Kim Kwan-young criticized the judgment as a setback to balanced development. “This decision runs counter to the aspirations of 1.8 million North Jeolla residents,” he said in a Facebook post, vowing to appeal with the ministry’s support.

Environmental groups framed the ruling as a turning point in Korea’s climate and biodiversity policy.

“The court has fulfilled its duty by checking wrongful government authority,” activists declared in a joint press conference. They urged the ministry not to appeal and to “face the reality of climate and ecological collapse.”

Meanwhile, the ruling has amplified scrutiny over other contested airport projects. Campaigners against the Gadeok Island Airport project in Busan said the Saemangeum decision proves that ecological risks cannot be ignored. “This case strengthens our resolve to fight until Gadeok Island Airport is scrapped,” activist Kim Hyun-wook said.