Wando and Jeju Island Actively Begin Full-Scale Response to 'Maritime Area Dispute'

Jeonnam Wando-gun and Jeju Island have actively responded to the maritime dispute over the Sasu-do waters.

The Jeonnam Provincial Council's Agriculture, Fisheries and Maritime Committee announced on the 22nd that it held the first meeting of the 'Jeonnam Maritime Dispute Response Council,' composed of representatives from Jeonnam Province, Wando-gun, legal advisory groups, and fisheries stakeholders, at the Jeonnam Provincial Council's Choi's Room.

This meeting was held to discuss institutional response measures in earnest regarding the jurisdictional dispute lawsuit filed by Jeju Province against Wando-gun.

The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Marine Affairs Committee of the Jeonnam Provincial Council formed the "Jeonnam Marine Area Dispute Response Council" and held its first meeting. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Council

The meeting was attended by 22 people, including Chairman Shin Euijun, Choi Jeong-gi, Director of the Marine and Fisheries Bureau, Park Hyun-sik, Director of the Autonomous Administration Bureau, Bae Yong-seok, Head of the Marine Wind Power Industry Division, Kim Hyun-ran, Head of the Marine Policy Division of Wando-gun, legal advisors, and fisheries representatives, sharing current issues related to the maritime boundary dispute.

Maritime jurisdiction areas have recently led to numerous disputes, extending from traditional fishing rights conflicts to large-scale development projects such as offshore wind power industries and reclamation projects.

The attendees pointed out the contradictory situation where there are no legal regulations for local governments to confirm maritime boundaries, yet boundaries have been drawn based on decisions by the Constitutional Court.

Chairman Shin Euijun, who presided over the meeting, emphasized, “The Sasu-do maritime boundary issue involves ongoing disputes between local governments and the national government. The future sea holds value beyond fishing rights, encompassing maritime industries,” adding, “We must do our utmost in comprehensive responses with related institutions to resolve the Wando-Jeju Sasu-do maritime dispute.”

Earlier, Jeju Province filed a jurisdictional dispute lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against Wando-gun after Wando-gun approved the use of public waters for installing a wind direction measuring device by an offshore wind power company near Sasu-do in April.

Jeju Province argued, “The area in question is under Jeju’s jurisdiction according to the national basic map issued by the National Geographic Information Institute in the 1970s,” and “Jeju manages and uses public waters based on the maritime boundary line on the national basic map, so the public water use permit granted by Wando-gun is invalid.”

In response, Wando-gun stated, “The boundary on the map issued by the National Geographic Information Institute is a simple map symbol intended to help citizens and administrative tasks easily identify the affiliated administrative office of islands,” and “Without consistent and repetitive administrative and resident actions, it is not recognized as a maritime boundary itself.”

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