Tension rises over Jeju naval base

Local government to remove all installations put up by opponents


Tension surrounding the construction of a strategic naval base on Jeju Island is mounting as the government is pressing ahead with the controversial project following a recent court ruling in support of it.

Since Gangjeong Village in Seogwipo of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province was designated as the site of the 977.6 billion won ($913 million) project in June 2007, controversy over it has persisted with both sides refusing to budge.

The Seogwipo municipality said that by Tuesday next week, it would remove all placards, posters and other illegal notices installed around the construction site by opponents of the project. 

The opposition argues that the municipality is talking initial steps to remove all the other facilities they have installed there to stop construction from proceeding. There are scores of placards, flags and posters, and around 30 container boxes and tents.

“We will not just sit back and watch it remove our facilities,” said some of the opponents.

On Wednesday, the minister of defense, along with the minister of land, transport and maritime affairs issued a joint statement to urge civic groups to stop any activities to hamper the construction, reiterating that the new base will benefit Jeju and its people.

The Jeju court, which accepted the government’s petition on Monday to stop protesters from impeding construction, put up a notice at the construction site, which showed its ruling to ban any act to obstruct construction.

As a huge rally against the naval base is scheduled for the weekend, police sent some 440 additional police officers to the site. They earlier rejected an application by opponents to stage a rally until Sept. 15.

The conflict-ridden project calls for establishing a “military-civilian” compound on the island, 90 kilometers off the peninsula’s south coast, to provide piers and other related facilities to dock a mobile fleet of up to 20 naval vessels and two 150,000-ton cruisers.

Military officials have claimed that the construction is necessary to properly cope with contingencies in the southern sea area, secure the country’s maritime transportation routes and help boost the regional economy.

But opponents argue that the planned installation could lead to the militarization of the island, which the government designated an “Island of World Peace” in 2005. They also claim that the base would cause the environmental degradation of the island famous for tourist attractions.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)