Officials selected Seongsan as the location for Jeju’s second airport, but you may be wondering why. Here’s Mike Laidman to explain how the decision was made.


The location study team for the new Jeju airport considered four sites in its evaluations: (신도) Sindo, (하모) Hamo, (난산) Nansan, and (성산) Seongsan.

The team scored the candidate sites based on nine criteria including air space and weather conditions.

(신도) Sindo scored 70.5, (하모) Hamo, 38.1, (난산) Nansan, 64 and (성산) Seongsan, 89. It was therefore chosen for the new airport site.
Among the evaluation criteria, Seongsan earned high points in the noise and environment categories.

(신도) Sindo, in second place, stacked up against (성산) Seongsan as follows.

There would be more than double the number of households affected by aircraft noise in Sindo than in Seongsan.

If the new airport was built in Sindo, landscape conservation zones and underground water conservation zones would be damaged. Seongsan, meanwhile, would be free from that kind of environmental destruction.


[slug]
‘Less of a negative impact’ if airport in Seongsan

The research team used the same evaluation standards when Korea chose the site for the country’s largest airport, (인천) Incheon Airport, but put more emphasis on standards regarding noise and environment. The team said that (성산) Seongsan would have less of a negative impact.

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Kim Byeong-jong / Professor, Korea Aerospace University
We used the same evaluation standards as when selecting Korea’s largest airport, but adjusted the noise and environment criteria.
<씽크:김병종/한국항공대 교수>
"소음을 우리가 무시할 수 없어서 소음부분이 가중치가 높아진 것이고 환경부분도 높아진 겁니다. 그 정도 조정을 통한 가중치입니다."

[camera]
Kim Seung-cheol

However, the research team stressed that additional environmental research on the impact that airport would have on nearby migratory habitats, the likelihood of bird strikes, and the destruction of oreum close to the runways is still needed.

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Son Myeong-su / Representative, Transport ministry
We can identify whether we will need to use nearby oreum after we finish drawing up the basic plan for the airport. But as of now, we believe we won’t have to damage the environmentally-important volcanic cones.
<씽크:손명수/국토교통부 공항항행정책관>
"오름에 손을 대야하느냐는 사실 정확히는 기본계획을 수립해서 설계를 해봐야 나옵니다. 그런데 현재 판단으로는 정말 보존가치가 있는 오름은 손을 안대도 되는 지역이라고 저희는 판단하고 있습니다."

The province also explained why the research team didn't include resident comments in its decision-making process.

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Won Heeryong / Jeju governor
If the research team offers multiple options for the airport location, the province will choose one by holding a local referendum or having a competition between the locations to avoid conflict. On the other hand, if there is only a single location proposed by the research team, it's better for the transport ministry to decide on its own.
<씽크:원희룡/제주특별자치도지사>
"(복수 대안이 나오면) 제주에서 주민투표를 하든지 경쟁공모를 하든지 해서 갈등을 줄일 수 있는 방식으로 가겠다, (하지만) 비슷한 수준의 복수의 안이 아니라 단일안으로 나오면 그 상태에서는 국토부가 책임지고 거기(입지 선정)까지 해달라."

[REPORTER]
Mike Laidman

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport says that discussions on compensation for land expropriation can begin in three years once the ministry finishes its feasibility study, draws up basic plans, and approves a final design for the facility.

Mike Laidman, KCTV