PK Jeon Jae-su "The Only Alternative is Gadeokdo New Airport" TK Kim Seung-su "Isn't the Verification Result of Gimhae Airport Distorted?"

National Assembly Plenary Session Continues Free Speeches on Dongnam-guen New Airport
Ruling Party PK Jeon Jae-su "Budget for Gadeokdo New Airport Must Be Included in Regular Session"
Opposition TK Kim Seung-su "Government Policy Repeatedly Flipped Like Turning Palm"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] On the 19th, during the National Assembly plenary session's free speech, there were exchanges of remarks between ruling and opposition party lawmakers regarding the Southeast region new airport. Jeon Jae-su, a current member of the Democratic Party representing PK (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam), urged participation from both parties, stating that "the only alternative is Gadeok New Airport." Meanwhile, Kim Seung-soo, a current member of the People Power Party representing TK (Daegu, Gyeongbuk), opposed the policy shift, saying, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has repeatedly stated that there is no problem with the existing Gimhae Airport feasibility study."

In his free speech, Jeon said, "This is a decision for the future of the Republic of Korea. The verification results must be duly respected." He added, "The safety and noise issues raised so far by the Gimhae New Airport verification committee have been largely proven to be true. The objective and scientific verification conclusion calls for a fundamental reconsideration of the construction of Gimhae New Airport." He emphasized, "The task before us now is to promptly construct a proper Southeast regional gateway airport (Gadeokdo New Airport) for the future of Korea."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "The Southeast region new airport has experienced controversy and conflict for nearly 20 years. Politics was at the center of it. There were reckless political promises and irresponsible political decisions." He stated, "Each time, regional conflicts intensified, and politics did not resolve them but rather fueled the situation with political calculations. This is the original sin of politics, the greatest mistake."

Regarding the criticism that the Gadeokdo New Airport is a "by-election ploy for the Busan mayor," Jeon criticized, "Framing it as a political election tool without any basis to obstruct the legitimate procedural progress, and using abusive language to rekindle regional conflicts and selfishness, is a regressive political behavior that should disappear into the annals of history along with Gimhae New Airport."

He urged, "We must provide legal and financial support to promote the Gadeokdo New Airport. The promotion budget must be reflected in this regular National Assembly session." He appealed, "To shorten the administrative procedure schedule as much as possible, we must swiftly enact a special law. I propose that both ruling and opposition parties work together on budget securing and special law enactment."

In the subsequent free speech, Kim said to the verification committee, "They suddenly concluded that a fundamental review is necessary, a nonsensical conclusion that lacks logical consistency." He questioned, "Isn't such an illogical conclusion proof of a 'dapjeongneo' (the answer is fixed, you just have to respond) type conclusion?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has repeatedly emphasized through press releases that there is no problem with the existing Gimhae Airport feasibility study. Until recently, Minister Kim Hyun-mi also said there was no problem." He added, "If there had been a critical flaw in the previous government's feasibility study, wouldn't the current government have raised the issue immediately upon taking office?"

He continued, "The 21 verification committee members overturned the feasibility study presented by Paris Airport Engineering (ADPi)." According to the media, some verification members complained that the data was insufficient for verification, and one member reportedly felt fear due to strong external pressure. He questioned, "Isn't the verification result distorted?"

He stated, "Through objective re-verification, we must transparently investigate where the mistakes were made and strictly punish with compensation claims and criminal measures."

Kim also urged, "I call on the Moon Jae-in administration as well. If government policies keep reversing like flipping the palm of a hand, which citizen can trust and believe in the government?" He added, "The government and ruling party should no longer misuse national policies as political tools."

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