The Democratic Party to Propose the 'Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act'... "Simplifying Timing and Procedures"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea is set to propose a special law to expedite the construction of the Gadeokdo New Airport.

On the 17th, the Democratic Party will hold an "Emergency Countermeasure Meeting for the Promotion of the Southeastern Gateway Airport" at 3:30 PM, immediately after the announcement of the feasibility verification results of Gimhae New Airport by the New Airport Verification Committee under the Prime Minister's Office. Chaired by Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, this meeting will discuss the proposal of the special law for Gadeokdo New Airport.

Kim Jeong-ho, co-head of the Southeastern New Airport Promotion Planning Group and a Democratic Party lawmaker, held a "Press Conference on Gadeokdo New Airport" with Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Industry Committee that morning. He stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration has put an end to the futile debate akin to calling a cat a tiger through the Prime Minister's Office verification committee today," adding, "We are considering legislation of a special law to shorten the timeline and simplify procedures."

Kim explained, "The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee approved a budget of 2 billion KRW for the feasibility study of Gadeokdo New Airport, but that alone is insufficient to accelerate the transition to Gadeokdo New Airport, which has been delayed for three years," and added, "Therefore, we are reviewing the proposal of a special law to further speed up the process."

When asked whether there was some consensus with the People Power Party, he said, "Park Jae-ho of the Busan City Party is working with Ha Tae-kyung, chairman of the Busan City Party of the People Power Party, and I understand that Ha has already expressed in the media that he is reviewing this."

The Democratic Party emphasized that the promotion of Gadeokdo New Airport is not for by-election purposes. Kim stated, "The Park Geun-hye administration politically decided on Gimhae New Airport," emphasizing, "It is inevitable. Even if it is a decided national project, if there are safety issues for the public, it is only natural to correct it belatedly."

Lawmaker Kim Seong-hwan also stressed, "Until now, the debate between Gadeokdo and Gimhae has never been examined from an industrial and logistics perspective. The location of Gadeokdo New Airport is right next to Busan New Port, which handles five major cargo volumes in Busan, and it is connected by KTX. From the perspective of a new Silk Road to Paris, it is an essential location."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Du-gwan appeared on MBC Radio that morning and responded to the question about criticism that Gadeokdo New Airport is for the Busan mayoral by-election, saying, "In fact, I think the 2016 Park Geun-hye administration's decision on Gimhae New Airport was a campaign strategy."

He continued, "As a result, precious years were wasted," adding, "It coincidentally aligns with the Busan mayoral by-election, but it cannot be delayed any further. This is not being done because of the election," emphasizing, "Gadeokdo New Airport will play a decisive role in national multi-polarization, so this is not about the election; it is something that must be done."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party aims to complete Gadeokdo New Airport by 2028, before the 2030 Busan World Expo. Kim said, "Since the 2030 World Expo was hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, it must be pushed forward with great speed to complete by around 2028," adding, "I am concerned that the cancellation of the Gimhae New Airport plan does not immediately lead to Gadeokdo New Airport and that new procedures must be followed."

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