Steps Toward Scrapping Gimhae New Airport... Verification Committee to Announce Results Tomorrow

We strongly oppose the expansion of Gimhae New Airport. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The Verification Committee for Gimhae New Airport under the Prime Minister's Office is reportedly set to announce its final verification results on the 17th, indicating that it is difficult to proceed with the currently promoted expansion plan due to safety issues at Gimhae New Airport.

Accordingly, the Southeast region new airport project, which had been pursued through the expansion of Gimhae Airport, will effectively return to square one, and more weight is expected to be placed on the Gadeokdo New Airport project being promoted by the ruling party.

On the afternoon of the 15th, during a closed high-level ruling party-government meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Seoul, discussions were reportedly held on the level of announcement of the verification results, based on accepting the legal interpretation from the Ministry of Government Legislation.

A ruling party official said, "The Ministry of Government Legislation has effectively issued a legal interpretation that Gimhae New Airport is difficult, and the government's acceptance of this legal interpretation means the cancellation of the Gimhae New Airport project."

On the 10th, the Ministry of Government Legislation reviewed the legal interpretation requested by the Verification Committee regarding Article 34 of the Airport Facilities Act and stated, "Regarding obstacle removal, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must consult with the relevant local government." This means that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport cannot proceed with the construction of Gimhae New Airport without consulting the relevant local government, Busan City.

Because of this, it appears that Gimhae New Airport will follow the process of being scrapped.

Recently, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon have also made statements supporting the scrapping of Gimhae New Airport. On the 4th, Lee visited Busan and said, "We will do our best to quickly end the false hope," showing support for Gadeokdo New Airport.

Prime Minister Chung also said at a press conference on the 10th regarding the verification of Gimhae New Airport, "If a conclusion is reached that there are problems, a situation may arise where other possibilities must be considered together."

Some interpret that the government is effectively reversing the decision on Gimhae New Airport ahead of next year's Busan mayoral by-election and shifting policy direction toward Gadeokdo New Airport.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.