A recent opinion poll by KCTV Jeju shows that nearly 70 percent of the islanders support the construction of a second airport on the island. Here’s Joseph Kim with a closer look at the results of the survey.
The first question asks about the inconvenience of the current airport facility.

41.7 percent of respondents answered that the current airport is inconvenient. Almost half of the respondents are not dissatisfied with the airport.


For reasons given, 24.6 percent said it is too small, 23.5 percent complained that flights are frequently delayed, 17.9 percent responded that it takes too long to access the airport due to heavy traffic, 17.3 percent complained about the shortage of seats on flights and 11.4 percent cited the busy parking lot.

The next question is about the island’s second airport.

68.5 percent agree with the plan while 16.6 percent oppose it.

When looking at the result by region, 65 percent of residents in Jeju City agree with the creation of the new facility and 70 percent of residents in rural areas of Jeju City,Seogwipo City and rural areas of Seogwipo City support the plan.

Meanwhile, 22.6 percent of residents in rural areas of Seogwipo City disapprove. That’s the highest disapproval rate among surveyed regions.


By age group, 51.4 percent of teenagers and respondents in their twenties are in favor of the new airport showing the lowest approval rate among age groups. The older the individual surveyed, the higher approval rate. Notably, nearly 80 percent of respondents in their sixties or older agree with the plan.

(성산) Seongsan has been chosen as the location of the second airport. KCTV Jeju asked opinions on the decision.

57.3 percent are in favor while 21.1 percent are opposed. And another 21.5 percent wish to reserve judgment. 66.1 percent in rural areas of Seogwipo City and 62.5 percent in rural areas of Jeju City approve of the decision.

22.7 percent in Jeju City and rural areas of Seogwipo City disapprove of the plan on the location - notably higher than other regions.

Respondents in their fifties or older showed greater approval of the decision.

66.7 percent of the surveyed in their fifties and 72.4 percent of the respondents in their sixties or older agreed with the plan. Meanwhile, 32 percent of teenagers and respondents in their twenties, 25.2 percent of people in their forties and 23.8 percent of respondents in their thirties disapprove.

Regarding expected effects of the new airport construction, 29.8 percent say it will help boost the local economy, 17.8 percent stated that it will create new industries and jobs, 17.6 percent say the construction will improve access to airport facilities, 17.5 percent responded that it will lead to regionally balanced development on the island and 12.2 percent said it will help the island become a globally popular tourist destination.

KCTV Jeju commissioned the survey to (미래) Mirae Research, The survey was carried out for a week from December 30th, 2015. 500 adults residing in Jeju were surveyed. The research team considered regions, gender and age groups and chose 500 samples. The team used an organized questionnaire and conducted individual interviews.

This census has a 95-percent confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.

Joseph Kim KCTV