Democratic Party Bu-Ul-Gyeong Lawmakers Say "Unconvinced by Ministry of Land's Preliminary Feasibility Study on Gadeokdo New Airport"

by Lee Seryeong

Published 21 Apr.2022 18:42(KST)

Updated 10 Aug.2025 11:21(KST)

On the 21st, an emergency press conference of the Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regarding the Gadeokdo New Airport was held at the briefing room of the Busan Metropolitan Council.
(Lawmakers from left: Jeon Jae-su, Park Jae-ho, Kim Doo-kwan, Kim Jung-ho, Choi In-ho).

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Members of the Democratic Party of Korea from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam sharply criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's preliminary feasibility study results on the Gadeokdo New Airport.

Park Jae-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party Busan City Committee and member of the National Assembly, along with Jeon Jae-su and Choi In-ho, Ulsan City Committee member Lee Sang-heon, and Gyeongnam Assembly members Kim Doo-kwan, Kim Jung-ho, and Min Hong-chul held a press conference on the 21st to express their position.

They collectively stated, "We cannot understand the Ministry of Land's study results, which include the airport opening in 2035, 100% marine reclamation, and a project cost of 13.7 trillion won."

The core contents of the proposal agreed upon by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam were explained as follows: ▲ Opening in 2029 to attract the 2030 Busan Expo ▲ Annual passenger demand of 38 million and minimum cargo demand of 630,000 tons by 2060 to meet the increasing international air traffic demand in the Southeast region ▲ Minimizing marine reclamation to about 43% of the total site to reduce construction time and costs ▲ Project cost investment of 7.45 trillion won.

“This result completely ignores the consensus of the citizens of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam,” they said, adding, “The 2029 opening was a national policy agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties during the last presidential election, but this intention cannot be found at all in the study results.”

According to the Ministry of Land's study results, a 100% artificial island airport, which had not even been reviewed by the time of the interim report at the end of October last year, was presented as the optimal location.

“Is this not the manifestation of the Ministry of Land's metropolitan area centrism aimed at concentrating air cargo logistics functions at Incheon Airport?” they questioned, adding, “The true nature of the aviation mafia politically weighing national projects during the regime change period has been revealed.”

The lawmakers argued that the Moon Jae-in administration should have proceeded with procedural simplifications such as exemption from preliminary feasibility studies to expedite the construction of the Gadeok New Airport.

They demanded that the Yoon Suk-yeol presidential transition committee express their views on the preliminary feasibility study results, warning that if the committee internally decides to accept the results as is, they will have no choice but to take a confrontational stance against the new government.

“The opening of Gadeokdo New Airport in 2029 is key to attracting the 2030 Busan World Expo,” they said, adding, “How should residents accept the silence of Mayor Park Hyung-joon, who should be the fiercest opponent of the Ministry of Land's decision on this matter?” They also demanded Mayor Park’s position.

Concluding the press conference, the lawmakers stated, “We will take a responsible attitude to ensure the opening of the Gadeok New Airport in 2029, which was initiated by the Roh Moo-hyun administration and finalized by the Moon Jae-in administration, and to build a safe gateway airport for Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.”