Court Halts Saemangeum Airport Construction: "Bird Strike Risk Higher Than Any Other Airport"

"Insufficient Review of Operational Safety"
Concerns Raised Over Ecosystem Destruction

The court has sided with citizens and environmental groups seeking to revoke the basic plan for the Saemangeum International Airport, effectively halting the construction of the new airport. This court decision comes three years after the lawsuit to cancel the project was filed.

Yonhap News Agency

On September 11, the Seoul Administrative Court’s 7th Division for Administrative Affairs (Presiding Judge Lee Jooyoung) ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by 1,297 citizens affiliated with the Saemangeum Airport Cancellation Joint Action against the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, seeking to revoke the basic plan for the Saemangeum International Airport development project.

The court recognized standing (the legal right to file an administrative lawsuit) for only three of the plaintiffs, as they reside in areas that fall within the legal scope for noise mitigation measures.

However, the court stated, "The basic plan in this case lacks legitimacy and objectivity in weighing the interests involved, and thus constitutes an abuse of discretionary authority. It is therefore unlawful and must be canceled." The reasons cited include the Ministry's failure to comparatively review the risk of bird strikes during the site selection process for Saemangeum International Airport, as well as the intentional downplaying of the associated risks.

The court pointed out, "Although the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport evaluated the risk of bird strikes at the project site during the supplementary phase of the strategic environmental impact assessment and found that the risk was higher than at any other airport in Korea-both for currently operating airports and newly considered ones-the Ministry intentionally downplayed the risk by inconsistently applying evaluation models and narrowing the scope of the assessment area."

The court further added, "The Ministry judged that the likelihood of accidents at Muan International Airport, which has a similar environment, was low, but in reality, bird strike incidents involving passenger aircraft have occurred at that airport."

The court stated, "Given that site changes are impossible at the environmental impact assessment stage, and that it is virtually impossible to devise effective measures to reduce the risk of bird strikes while protecting birds, it is inevitable to conclude that the review of operational safety and the weighing of interests were inadequate."

The court also pointed out, "The site in question has a rich ecosystem and is home to a large number of endangered animal species and diverse populations," highlighting the potential for airport construction to damage the ecosystem.

The Saemangeum International Airport project aims to build a runway, apron, passenger terminal, and cargo terminal on a 3.4 million square meter site in the Saemangeum area of North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province, with completion targeted for 2028. After the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport finalized and announced the basic plan for the airport in June 2022, the Joint Action group filed an administrative lawsuit in September of the same year seeking its cancellation.