"'Gadeokdo New Airport' Promotion to Be Accelerated"…Special Act Proposed in Bipartisan Competition

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As the 'Gadeokdo New Airport' emerges as a big issue in next year's Busan mayoral by-election, both ruling and opposition parties are competitively moving to propose legislation. The Democratic Party plans to introduce a special law next week, centered on Busan-area lawmakers, while the People Power Party is preparing to propose legislation led by lawmakers Park Su-young and Ha Tae-kyung. However, criticism within the People Power Party that this is merely an 'election ploy' still persists, suggesting potential difficulties ahead.

Kim Tae-nyeon, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the policy coordination meeting on the 19th, "The Gadeokdo New Airport initiated by the Democratic Party will be completed by the Democratic Party," adding, "We will increase the budget for new airport-related research projects by 2 billion won in next year's budget and expedite the process through the special law being prepared by Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae."

Lawmakers from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK) are also proposing bipartisan cooperation and pressuring the opposition party, which has divided opinions internally. Democratic Party lawmakers Park Jae-ho, Jeon Jae-soo, Choi In-ho (Busan), Kim Du-kwan, Kim Jeong-ho, Min Hong-chul (Gyeongnam), and Lee Sang-heon (Ulsan) held a press conference at the National Assembly the day before, stating, "We will work hard to promptly prepare a special law for the swift promotion of the Gadeok New Airport and to make it a party consensus," and urged, "Let us jointly promote bipartisan co-proposal of the special law and the People Power Party's party consensus."

People Power Party lawmakers from the Busan region are also lending their support. Lawmaker Park Su-young announced on Facebook that "Since the government decision has been announced, we must now swiftly promote the Gadeokdo New Airport to meet the 2030 Busan Expo," and plans to be the lead proposer of the special law. The special law includes provisions such as simplifying permits and exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies. Park said, "I have no time to sleep due to the Budget Committee subcommittee, but I could not refuse the request from Busan-origin lawmakers to propose the special law, so I drafted the bill," emphasizing, "Since we decided to do it anyway, we must proceed with the procedures as soon as possible." Ha Tae-kyung, the Busan City Party Chair, also said on the 17th, "Busan lawmakers will actively support the promotion of the Gadeokdo New Airport." Busan-origin lawmakers will discuss the promotion of the special law over lunch on the same day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, persistent criticism within the party regarding the scrapping of the Gimhae New Airport remains a concern. Lawmaker Hong Moon-pyo appeared on tbs radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the same day, criticizing, "The sexual harassment by Oh Geo-don is now gone, and they attached a 1 billion won new airport here," while Floor Leader Joo Ho-young also criticized the inconsistency in national project promotion at the emergency committee meeting, stating, "President Moon must answer about the scrapping of the Gimhae New Airport. Whether the Gadeokdo New Airport is possible is a matter after that."

Emergency Committee Chair Kim Jong-in was reserved about the party's internal disagreements over the Gadeokdo New Airport issue, saying, "Since there is no confirmed decision on where to go yet, a unified opinion can only come out once a confirmed matter is announced." This is interpreted as meaning that the promotion of the Gadeokdo New Airport has not yet been decided as the party's official stance.

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