Top Stories 23/04/23 Korean Catholics oppose new airport in Jeju island

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Korean Catholics oppose new airport in Jeju island

Ministry of Environment rejected the airport plan three times citing incomplete environmental assessment

Catholic priests offer Mass at Jeju island of South Korea on April 23 as part of protest against a new airport. (Photo: Jeju Diocese)

By UCA News reporter

Published: April 26, 2023 11:36 AM GMT

Catholics from two dioceses in South Korea joined a special Mass praying to preserve the ecologically-critical Jeju Island, which they say will be damaged if a new airport comes up as planned. 

The Ecological Environment Committee of Jeju Diocese and the Environment Ministry of Incheon Diocese jointly held the Mass “Preservation of Jeju's Ecological Environment” in Jeju on April 23.

About 40 people including church leaders, laypeople and environmental activists joined the program.

During the Mass, Father Joseph Hwa ng Tae-jong from the Jeju diocesan environmental committee said Jeju Island needed laws that could preserve it rather than develop it.

“Jeju should not be a free international city, but an island of life and peace, and that is why Jeju needs a special law on [its] preservation, not a special law on [its] development,” Joseph said.

Jeju, the largest island in South Korea, is famed for its natural beauty, making it a prime destination for local and foreign tourists. The island is a part of the autonomous Jeju province and features several natural sites recognized as world heritage sites by UNESCO.

The island is home to about 700,000 people including estimated 80,000 Catholics.

The island already has Jeju International Airport, dubbed one of the busiest in the world and used by an average of 26 million people annually.

The authorities planned a second airport on the southern part of the island with an estimated construction cost of about US$4 billion, citing the limited capacity of the single-runway old airport built in 1968.

Jeju islanders, environmental groups and Catholic Church have been up in arms against the second airport, saying it would endanger the environment and wildlife, and adversely impact poor islanders.

South Korea’s Ministry of Environment rejected the airport plan three times, citing incomplete and unsatisfactory environmental assessment.

However, media reports say the Jeju authorities have continued to promote the airport plan despite the opposition.

Including the one in Jeju, the South Korean government has approved a plan for the construction of 10 new airports across the country at an estimated cost of 8.7 trillion won (US$7.09 billion) in the coming years in order to boost economic activities.

The statement from the church groups said the new airport is unacceptable in Jeju because it poses a grave danger to the environment and wildlife of the island.

“The environmental problems of the planned site for the second airport are overflowing. It is at a very serious level,” the statement said.

The groups pointed out the planned airport particularly threatens a bird sanctuary and the habitat of endangered species, and noise pollution caused by the aircraft is feared to have negative impacts on wildlife.

“Civil society is raising questions about whether this is a desirable policy for the sustainability of the city,” the group said.

They also raised alarm over the news that the second planned airport would be used for military purposes.

“It should not become a military base amidst quarrels,” the groups emphasized, citing ongoing disputes with communist-ruled North Korea and China.

“Jeju can have the most solid culture when it is Jeju-like, and when the culture is solid, humans and nature can coexist,” the statement added.

This report is brought to you in partnership with the Catholic Times of Korea.