Save Jeju Now

No War Base on the Island of Peace

  • The budget was passed. Navy plans to dismantle people’s sit-in tent.

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    Since November, people have taken 24 hours sit-in in front of the military residence construction area inside the village. A big sit-in tent and village bus block the whole main gate of it. (Photo by Park Yong-Sung)

     

     

    People resist to the lying navy who enforces the building of military residence inside the village

     

    Admiral Hwang Ki Chul, the incumbent chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Korea Navy since September, 2013, who is recently denounced for his scandalous involvement in the corrupt arms purchase from an unknown US arms company years ago (see here), has made a remark that the navy would never build military residence inside the Gangjeong village unless villagers agree with it. His lie still loudly rings to the ears of people who clearly remember what he said.

    But as Kim Sung-Chan, one of his predecessors, has later violated his own words that the navy would never expropriate villagers’ lands and would never start base construction without villagers’ agreement, Hwang and the navy has been setting to build 72 households of military residence on the way to the port inside the village, without consultation and agreement with the villagers (for more on the navy plan of military residence and people’s strong opposition to it, see the top articles of Oct. and Nov. newsletter, here and here.)

    As soon as the navy got permission from the Seogwipo City Hall on Oct. 7, this year, it moved two containers into the military residence construction area for 72 households, set up the fence, and installed surveillance camera on the top of its main gate.

    The navy’s enforcement of the military residence construction started along with the setting for the construction of a cruise terminal which is a part of so called ‘Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty Project,’ an official name of the Jeju naval base project, ridiculous though as the navy seems to prefer to a ‘pure’ navy base.  The location of the latter is much nearer to the port. Signs of construction information for those swarm along the way to the port where one does not miss a scene of the transformed coast and sea covered with ugly base construction facilities and monster-like pollution-pouring barges.

    With urgency to save the 450 year old village from the building of military residence inside the village, people have begun to stop construction vehicles going to the area with 24 hours’ sit-in booth in the center road of the village and later on, with a large sit-in tent just in front of its main gate. The only village-owned bus was tightly chained next to the sit-in tent, totally blocking the whole gate from all the construction vehicles.

    Now, the sit-in tent site just in front of the military residence construction gate is people’s another struggle fronts along with the base construction gate site in the eastern part of the village and Samgeori(a three-fork road) where people have set a communal restaurant and residence containers for the purpose of occupation against navy’s robbing-off the area.

     

    Budget was passed with an unreliable condition, ‘Occasionally allocated’

     

    Despite people’s clear demand to cut the whole 2015 Jeju naval base budget, especially that of military housing project inside the village (for the details, see here), it was on Dec. 2 when the South Korean National Assembly passed the whole 2015 Jeju naval base budget of 298 billion won (about 290 million USD), but with the decision to compile the budget as the ‘occasionally allocated,’ which means the budget is compiled and managed by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance which would hand over the budget to the Ministry of National Defense whenever ‘a condition’ is implemented.

    The Jeju Island government stated on Dec 3 that the National Assembly condition meant an agreement between the navy and Jeju Island Government which had requested the former not to build military residence inside the village, following the result of its meeting with the representatives of the village association last month(see the headline article in Nov. newsletter, here). The Island government even stated that the execution of budget for the building of military residence became impossible for the navy without consultation with the Island government. It stated that it would do its best to consult with the navy so that the navy could purchase military residence in nearer and better location rather than building it in the currently planned site inside the village.

    However, no matter how confident the Island government appears in regards to its interpretation on the ‘occasionally allocated budget,’ such condition is not clearly written as a collateral condition to the budget passed by the National Assembly. Doubts are reasonably raised on such budget allocation, given that the Ministry of National Defense, and the Central Governments have never observed such National Assembly condition even in written forms. The Government-specifically the Ministries of Strategy and Finance and National Defense could be very arbitrary in its decision to allow the execution of the budget and to execute it respectively.

    (See a reference article in a Jeju media in Korean, here)

     

    The Navy’s shameless warning to dismantle people’s sit-in tent

    Navy notice Dec 10
    As the date of Dec. 9, 2014, the navy sent the village mayor the 1st warning notice to dismantle people’s sit-in tent and other sit-in facilities by Dec. 16, in the name of the Jeju Civilian-Military Complex Port Building Committee.

     

    Otherwise, on Dec. 10, the Jeju naval base project committee sent a written warning to the village association that it would carry out an administrative vicarious execution which means it would dismantle people’s sit-in tent and village bus unless the village association is volunteering to remove it by Dec. 16. The warning even threatens villagers that they may be even enforced to pay all the execution fees.

    The notice was recently sent again to the village with the due date by Dec. 22. Barbarous however the navy’s plan is, a lawyer tells on the legal matter. According to the lawyer:

    ‘Even though there is an issue of violation of Constitution when a special group so called military directly carries out an administrative vicarious execution against general citizens, which oppresses their right to property and freedom, it has an authority on an administrative vicarious execution by the positive law, in cases the state or local self-governing organization is an enforcement administration of the applied construction.’

    The village association, confirming its will to fight against any outside oppression, declared that it would keep the sit-in tent and other sit-in facilities to the end. The Seogwipo City to which the village belongs to, has not cooperated to the navy in regards of dismantling villagers’sit-in tent, as the City is under the order of the Island government.

    The village denounced the navy saying that military residence building project denies the local residents’ right to self-governing decision and the existence basis of the village association. Not only that, it is an explicit extension of the Jeju naval base project, not to mention that it seriously threatens the villagers’ right to live. (see the collection of the articles on the navy letter and villagers’ protest statement in Korean here)

    The Jeju Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of military Base and for the Realization of Peace Island, which is composed of 31 parties, civic groups, and religious groups within the Jeju Island, denounced the navy in its Dec. 12 statement, saying that “it is exposed that the navy’s showy rhetoric by now such as ‘agreement by villagers,’ ‘conflict settlement,’ is merely a kind of a ‘false psychological war,’ which intends to mislead public opinion on the basis of military operation.’

    It is not clear yet when the navy would finally carry out its administrative vicarious execution, mobilizing its thugs and police.. Is the navy who has used sugar-coating words such as ‘co-existence of civilian-military’ and ‘civilian-military complex,’ willing to clash directly with the people? The time is approaching.

    And regardless of the navy’s shameless deeds, people keep their 24 hour sit-in in the tent. A peace activist writes:

    “Whatever, the politics, administration, and media do, there may not be much we can do. We have only our bodies and hearts. Nothing to be changed. We continue to sleep in the tent, clean it, perform traditional music, watch movies inside it, pack tangerines for fundraising, file fire woods, make fires in furnace, and stop vehicles with our bodies… regardless the navy comes to dismantle our sit-in tents whenever…”

     

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    People lightens a whole night with fire in front of the military residence construction area on Dec. 18 (Photo by Kim Eun-Hye)

    (See here for more photos)

    To save the village and to realize a true Peace Island, people’s fight will never end.   A new year is approaching: The 10th anniversary of the Jeju designated as the “Peace Island’ by the Government.

     

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    Protest banners are hung inside and even neighborhood village . The banner reads, “Navy! you are the outside power that destroys our hometown, Gangjeong! – Anti-navy base committee of the Gangjeong village” Choi Yong-Beom, Co-vice mayor of the village and a peace activist (Photo by Park Yong-Sung)
    village banner 0
    A banner by the anti-naval base committee of the Gangjeong village, hung inside the village. The navy plans to station about 7,000 people in the Jeju naval base that is currently being built. You may remember that the whole population of the Gangjeong villagers is less than 2,000. The banner explains the urgency of the struggle to stop the navy’s current project to build 72 households of military residence outside of the base but inside the village. (A photo by  Choi Yong-Beom, Co-vice mayor of the Gangjeong village)

     

    A rough translation of the banner above:

     

    “Gangjeong villagers!

    Currently the navy is saying that it is driving only for 72 households for patrol boat crewmen. And it stated that it has already purchased 34 households of civilian apartment in the outside and it would additionally purchase 184 households of apartment next year to use those as military residence.

    Then, will the navy’s military residence construction plan end only with it?

    The navy has originally stated that the numbers of people who would station in the [currently being built] Jeju naval base would be 7,000.

    Only with that fact, you can roughly guess the size of military residence. It is estimated that the maximum numbers of people who would be accommodated [in the currently being built military residence] inside the base would be no more than 5,000, even with combining all the numbers of people in 987 households for the singles and married, and of enlisted men’s barracks. It is planned that the military residence outside of the base would be mainly used by the company and field grade and it is estimated that the required numbers of the households for those would be around 500 at the minimum to 2,000 at the maximum.

    The navy’s position is that once 72 households are constructed in the Gangjeong village, it would, consulting Gangjeong villagers, progress building of additional 359 households, beside the purchase of apartment, . Do you think that is indeed the end? There is possibility that more than 1,000 households of military residence would be continuously built in the Gangjeong village until the size of stationing people fulfills.

    In other words, the Gangjeong village would be totally a military village as a result of it. It will be very likely that the navy would secure the initiative of the village association then extend the naval base in earnest through driving for military facilities such as magazine powder keg/ heliports.

    Therefore, the navy’s current drive to build 72 households of military residence must be stopped. We should save the history of the 450 year old Gangjeong village.

    The anti-naval base committee of the Gangjeong village

  • A Press Conference to Cut the 2015 Jeju Naval Base Building Budget

    • Nov_18_1
      On Nov. 18, 2014, activists gathered in front of the National Assembly in Seoul to demand the whole cut of the 2015 Jeju naval base construction budget . Mr. Choi Yong-Beom, co-vice mayor of the Gangjeong village association (right in the photo) joined the press conference, representing the village (photo by a press conference participant)

    • Nov_18_2
      A press conference to demand the whole cut of the 2015 Jeju naval base construction budget, in front of the ROK National Assembly, Seoul, on Nov. 18, 2014 (Photo by a press conference participant)

     

    On Nov. 18, the Gangjeong village association, Jeju Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of Military Base and for the Realization of Peace Island, and National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island officially demanded the National Assembly to cut the 2015 Jeju naval base budget of 298 billion won (about $290 million USD) filed by the Government. In their opinion statement, the groups claimed that the Government has habitually ignored National Assembly decisions and promises with the Island people  (See the below sources)

     

    The seven reasons to the cut the 2015 Jeju naval base budget

    (* Only big titles were translated here. Each details are currently available only in Korean in the below sources)

     

    _Violation of the 2014 budget collateral conditions given by the National Assembly

    _Need to reexamine the safety matter of 150,000 ton cruise navigation

    _Military housing building project that amplifies conflicts

    _Harbor construction without the measures on environment contamination

    _Stagnation on the executive results and annual transfer possibility

    _Invalid Jeju naval base project

    _Continued human rights infringement and government negligence on conflicts

     

    Proposals by the Gangjeong village association and civic society

     

    There should be an inquiry on the responsibility of the Ministry and navy’s habitual violation of National Assembly collateral conditions.

    There should be the prompt stop of military housing building that amplifies conflicts. There should be the whole cut of 9,819,000,000 KRW (about $ 9 million USD) construction budget; of 347,000,000 KRW (about $300,000 USD) supervision cost; and of 36,442,000,000 KRW (about 30 million USD) purchase cost for  military apartment.

    In relation to  entry & exit of the military-related vehicles, the construction budget for 19.5 billion KRW (about $ 18 million USD) for  the entry road of which its building has not been agreed with villagers should be frozen until measures for noise and environment matters are prepared for.

    Also there should be the cut of  harbor & bay facility construction cost of 96.4 billion won (about $ 90 million USD); of land facility construction cost of 112 billion KRW (about $110 million USD); of  harbor & bay supervision cost of 2.3 billion won (about $2  million USD); and land supervision cost of 2.3 billion won(about $2 million USD), with an inquiry on the responsibility of the supervising committee’s poor management, as well as  a demand that the execution of construction budget should not be done unless there is  preparation for the measures on the protection of ecology system and soft corals.

    In the project promotion budget, there should be the whole cut of about 11 million KRW (about $10,000 USD) for the events such as local residents-invitation events, visitor-welcome events, conflict-management activities.  And in the indirect cost, there should be the cut of about 36.5 million KRW (about $ 30,000 USD) for the public relation material production (booklets, leaflets & other materials) and newspaper advertisement. Those budgets bring concern that they could stir up conflicts as the navy makes unilateral public relation, justifying the Jeju naval base project.

    The problem of location selection was proved again. Following the destruction of seven caissons – huge concrete structures for the breakwater installed on the maritime of the Jeju naval base construction site- by the typhoon Bolaven in 2012, three caissons were also pushed or slanted down by the typhoon Neoguri ( with the maximum wind speed 19.5 m/s ) in 2014. Fundamental examination on the matter is necessary.

    To resolve the conflict on the Jeju civilian-military complex port, the should-be–clearly-examined in the truth investigation raised by the current Won Hee-Ryong Island government (See the Oct. newsletter, Page 1) are the propriety matter of the village general meeting (* which was manipulated by the navy) at the time of the invitation of the Jeju naval base project; validity matter of environment impact assessment; propriety matter of annulment of absolute preservation area not to mention validity matter of location selection; layout errors in relation to the safety matter of 150,000 ton cruise navigation; and suspicion on the data manipulation raised in the process of simulation and the substance of external pressure. To resolve those matters, the Government and National Assembly should be responsible to act.

    Before more construction progress, there should be through verification on the reason of the postponement of layout change on the west side jetty and safety matter of 150,000 ton cruise navigation.  Also there should be a prompt environment and legal examination whether the planned sea route (changed) can properly work as the Jeju naval base sea route.

    Further, there should be total reexamination on the location and military validity as there is a big concern that the Jeju naval base is fundamentally to be used as an outpost for the ROK-US-Japan trilateral military missile defense and naval cooperation targeting China and is to aggregate nuclear arms cost and military confrontation in the Northeast Asia.

    Source:

    People’s Solidarity for Particpatory Democracy

    Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea

    Civilian Military Watch

    Love you, Gureombi (Gangjeong village website)

     

     

  • Cut the 2013 Jeju Naval Base Budget

    Update: See the Dec. 29 statement to Cut the budget at the end of this (Dec. 31).

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    Fwd from Save Jeju Now

    Today, you may help us by sending this to the members of the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly.

    The villagers and people have been doing peace bows despite cold weather  in front of the National Assembly, Seoul,  since Dec. 24. Today, Dec. 29 is the final day on the talk on the 2013 Jeju naval base budget.  See the below for contact email address

    PHOTOS OF
    A KOREAN ENVIRONMENTAL HOLOCAUST, DECEMBER 29, 2012
    Snapshot #1: The south Jeju Sea, which contains one of the world’s largest and most spectacular soft-coral forests as well as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, has been infiltrated by 13 coral-dredging barges. The barges are working around the clock to crush and destroy the precious and amazing coral habitats. The idea is to build a state-of-the-art military navy base that will accommodate sonar-emitting nuclear submarines, Aegis-missile technology destroyers, the largest U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier, and other warships.
    Snapshot #2: Villagers from Gangjeong perform thousands of full bows in the snow from morning to night in front of the Seoul Assembly. They have been here since before Christmas to protest the construction of the base. Construction of the base will destroy everything they value dearly: their food source, their culture, their history, their future. The Korean government tells them the base is needed for national security. But the villagers do not believe turning their island into a military target will make them more secure. Security for the chaebol minority is death to Korea’s working class people and nature.
    Gangjeong villagers protest base construction on Christmas Eve.
    Snapshot #3: Far to the south, on Jeju Island, Gangjeong villagers hold a continual protest vigil at the construction gate, around the clock, through snow and hail. They block the continual parade of construction trucks entering the base-construction zone, in an effort to delay the project as much as possible.
    Snapshot #4: A worker on one of the dredging barges has collected a few of the many beautiful, once-living shell creatures he dredged up in the course of a day’s work. The marine life here is some of the most diverse and abundant in the world. If the base is not stopped, all life here will be dead, from the siltation, release of heavy metals and other toxins, and sonar. Korea’s last pod of dolphins will perish, since they are not long-distance swimmers and there is no temperate refuge in proximity of the destruction. The Gangjeong villagers are crying, “They are killing all the creatures in our sea!”
    *               *               *               *               *               *
    If the Jeju base is built, nothing could be more dangerous to the future security of Korea (or more profitable to the chaebol). It would be a message, loud and clear, to China and North Korea that the Republic of Korea staunchly supports the U.S. military agenda.
    We must emphasize DIPLOMACY, NOT BASE-BUILDING.
    CUT THE 2013 BUDGET FOR THE JEJU NAVY BASE CONSTRUCTION!
    1009 General Kennedy Ave. #2 | San Francisco, CA 94129 US

     

    Members of the Budget and Balance committee, Democratic United Party (21)and United Progressive Party(2)

    ggh000@naver.com, kdc2000@na.go.kr,
    kimcj@assembly.go.kr, ktn21@assembly.go.kr,
    wraenoh@hanmail.net, bdmin1958@assembly.go.kr,
    parknamchun@naver.com, jhok100@hanmail.net,
    intoan429@hanmail.net, ams@osan21.or.kr,
    YSJ@assembly.go.kr, lmk2014@na.go.kr,
    smlee@assembly.go.kr, lys6062@assembly.go.kr,
    lys6062@assembly.go.kr, ssaribi317@hanmail.net,
    choiminhee51@gmail.com, js21@assembly.go.kr,
    youngvote@hanmail.net, ksd519@gmail.com,
    jinbosk@gmail.com, moonriver@gmail.com

     

    Members of the Budget and Balance committee, ruling Saenuri Party(27)

    ggotop@assembly.go.kr, ksdd22@naver.com,
    ldek3525@naver.com, my733@hanmail.net,
    kst0331@assembly.go.kr, kjg7942@jinjucity.com,
    taewon@ktw.or.kr, ansung@assembly.go.kr,
    sungkull@na.go.kr, 2020shp@na.go.kr,
    yg4namgu@naver.com, ljy2111@assembly.go.kr,
    yschang49@assembly.go.kr, bgchoung@assembly.go.kr,
    jhs01000@hanmail.net, johj98@assembly.go.kr,
    ijysoon@naver.com, mphonglove@hanmail.net,
    hip@assembly.go.kr, jiman0530@naver.com,
    khp316@na.go.kr

     

    (For the details of 50 members in the Budget and Balance committee in Korean, see here. The address above are collection of the available)

     

    ………………………………………….

    The below is a translation of the Dec. 29 statement by the Civic Peace Forum, Civic Society Organizations’ Solidarity Meeting. You can see the original Korean statement, here.

    Statement

    The 2013 Jeju naval base budget should be totally cut

    Park Geun-Hye, President-Elect and ruling and opposition party members should keep promise with the Jeju Island people.

     

    1. The National Assembly discussion on the 2013 budget is approaching to its very end. The ruling and opposition party members and National Assembly members should cut all 2013 Jeju naval base budget. The reasons that the whole cut of naval base budget is inevitable are in the below.

    2. Firstly, ‘objective verification on base layout,’ that has been the promised with the Island people, agreed by the ruling and opposition party members in Dec. 2011 was not properly carried on. The purpose that the Budget and Balance committee of the National Assembly in 2011 cut most part of 2012 naval base budget was to straighten out the layout flaws of the so called ‘civilian-military complex port for tour beauty’ that the government and navy have made a pledge. When the National Assembly cut the budget in 2011, it demanded the Government and navy to ‘objectively verify on the matter of the cruise ships, regarding their entry/exit of port and coming/leaving alongside the pier. Since then, the technical verification committee composed under the supervision of the Office of Prime Minister acknowledged on ‘flaws on the base design.’ However, in the field, construction has been enforced without fundamental change on layout that would not settle the cause of problems. Even though the navy made some makeshift remedy proposals such as rearrangement of the structures in harbor & bay, change in navigation route, super tug boats that are to partly change the layout without construction stop and fundamental re-layout, the matters on the cruise entry/exit of port, cruise coming/leaving alongside the pier have never been proved. Any simulation that would verify an independent and objective simulation has not been carried out by now yet. Therefore the navy and government have no basis to demand necessary budget to enforce construction as the agreement by the ruling and opposition parties have not been made in 2011.

    3. Secondly, the problems of the layout that were partly changed after the technical verification committee acknowledged the layout flaws are being disclosed one after another. The representing case is that the altered cruise navigation route (30° angle navigation route) for the reason of safety matter goes through the natural protection zone of the Tiger Island (natural memorial No. 421) and UESCO Biosphere Reserve (Buffer zone) therefore serious environmental destruction is expected. Also despite the navy’s change of base design in parts, it was disclosed that the space for the 150,000 ton cruises to turn is still lack and it is even far from the standard brought up by the Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Maritime Affairs. The verification on those new points in disputes have not been established at all, either.

     4. Thirdly, caissons that are the core facilities of the harbor and bay construction have been largely destroyed due to the typhoons of this summer. Further, suspicions on unreliable construction have been raised through ‘inside’ reports (emphasis by me). It is not only unreasonable to continue cassion installation construction without proper investigation and measures but could bring a tremendous budget waste.

     5. Those basis consistently show that the base currently being built in the Gangjeong village is not the civilian-military complex port for tour beauty that the Jeju Island people have promised to the Government and navy but it has a serious defect in technical and environmental way. It is not reasonable to compile the budget of more than 200 billion won budget to enforce the naval base construction that the villagers strongly oppose without the fundamental measure or objective verification that the Jeju Island people can trust. Park Geun-Hye, President-elect (*Suspicions on unfair vote and ballot-counting process have been continuously raised) has stated that she would drive for the construction of civilian-military complex port for tour beauty when she visited the Jeju during the {Presidential election. It is not to be responsible and to follow the will of the Island people to push a military base with technical and environmental defects in the name of the Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty.

     6.As the ruling and opposition parties have set up the standard of ‘no verification, no budget,’ by the ruling and opposition party agreement in 2011, it is reasonable that the National Assembly cut the whole Jeju naval base project budget proposed in the situation when the verification that the National Assembly has not been properly established. If the political field enforces the naval base construction without keeping promise to its own principle and Island people, the Jeju island will be wrapped up by more serious conflicts. We demand the wise choice by the ruling and opposition parties again.

    Dec. 29

    Civic Peace Forum, Civic Society Organizations’ Solidarity Meeting.

     (Fwd by Kim Hee-Soon, PSPD. National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island)

  • Jeju Naval Base Budget Cut, Construction Stop and Peace

    mas tree
    Photo by Lee Woo Ki/ People set up a Christmas tree on which they put their aspiration for peace, democracy, Government change,  and whole budget cut on the Jeju naval base project etc. For more photos by Lee Woo Ki on the ‘Let’s live together,’ sit-in camp  in the center of Seoul, see here.

     

    The writing below by Oh Hye-Ran was originally written for the Gangjeong Village Story: Monthly News from the Struggle | Decemeber Issue. (See the 1st page). The original Korean writing was translated by the Save Jeju Now and proofread by Uni Park.

     

    Jeju naval Base Budget Cut, Construction Stop and Peace

    The cut on the naval base is a core link that can actually stop naval base construction

    By Oh Hye-Ran, Co-convener, National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island

     

    The National Assembly cut 96 % of the Jeju naval base budget in December of 2011. The budget cut was a reprimand on the slapdash base layout, strongly expressing that construction must stop with verification on the flawed layout to be the first priority. In truth, the sub-investigation committee on the Jeju naval base project of the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly demanded the Government to verify the matter of safe entry and exit for cruise ships in the Jeju Civilian-Military Complex Port (Jeju naval base) and to report the results.

    A year later, it was disclosed that it is difficult for a cruise weighing 150,000 ton to safely enter and exit the port because the turning field and navigation route in the layout are short of legal standards. It was also disclosed that there are many problems even for the large military vessels to enter and exit the port. Another disclosed fact different from the Government explanation that it is a ROK base, is that the Jeju naval base is being built following the standards demanded by the CNFK (Commander of US Navy Forces of Korea) for the US aircraft carrier Flotilla to be able to enter the port.

    Also disclosed was that the Government executed outside pressure in operation on the ‘Technical Verification Committee on the Cruise Entry and Exit of Port,’formed following the National Assembly recommendation, and in adaptation of the report. It was disclosed as well that the National Policy Control meeting (Feb. 19, 2012) in which the Government decided resumption on the construction drive was also based on incorrect simulation.

    Only with the facts exposed during the technical verification process and without all other matters, the Jeju naval base construction must be stopped. However, the Lee Myung-Bak Government is enforcing construction by ignoring the National Assembly recommendation and by hiding, distorting and manipulating related facts, from the position of the navy. It is known that the biggest power supporting the Lee Myung-Bak Government is the military, Samsung, civil engineering and building contractors, and armament expansionists who have expanded their power relying on division and the Korean War.

     The Jeju naval base budget cut was the hottest issue in the preparatory review of the defense budget in the National Assembly this year. The ruling Saenuri Party and opposition Democratic United Party (DP) countered each other in claims: Approval on the total budget as the Government proposal vs. cut on the whole amount of 201 billion won budget. The Seanuri Party used the Jeju naval base issue as the tool for the concentration of the conservative votes and for the attack on the DP. On Nov. 28, the Seanuri Party passed the Jeju naval base budget in snatched way, trampling down, by itself, the National Assembly recommendation presented in agreement with the opposition party a year ago.

    The position of Park Geun-Hye and her Sanuri Party is that the Jeju naval base is inevitably necessary and that she would build the Jeju naval base as a world-famous civilian-military complex port much like the one in Hawaii. Moon Jae-In, candidate of the DP made a pledge that he would stop the Jeju naval base construction and re-examine the project if he is elected. If candidate, Park Geun-Hye is elected President on the Presidential Election Day on Dec. 19, the 24 hour construction will be enforced and the dynamic force of the opposition movement will rapidly fall. On the contrary, if candidate Moon Jae-In is elected, there is a possibility that he would take a measure to stop construction and the opposition movement against the naval base project would be sprung upward.

    The Gangjeong villagers and peace-keepers have delayed construction by halting the entry of vehicles at the entrance times seven to ten times daily for at least 5- 10 minutes each. The efforts have resulted in about 50 billion won that the navy could not execute in construction work. If by encouraging citizens actions to oppose paying taxes on this unreasonable, unreliable security project and the entire 2013 Jeju naval base budget is cut in the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly which is to be held after the Presidential election, the construction budget that the navy retains will run out around March or April of next year.  Even though they will want to continue the 24 hour construction, it cannot be possible without the budget.

    Given that, to cut the entire budget on the Jeju naval base is in fact a core link stopping the construction. Even though Moon Jae-In may be elected in the Presidential Election there is little things he can do until after his Presidential inauguration, planned date of Feb. 25, 2012. The Saenuri Party will gear up to pass the entire Jeju naval base budget not only in the case that Park Geun-Hye is elected but even if she fails in the presidency. The National Assembly’s examination of the Jeju naval base budget to be held right after the Presidential election, would be a very important watershed for the struggle, and could decide the prospect of the struggle against the naval base project.

    Through the construction of the Jeju naval base in Gangjeong village is, the United States will exploit this beautiful  and heaven-blessed Jeju to make it outpost to contain China. The Jeju history of suffering as a former war base under Japanese imperialism and the painful scars from the 4.3 massacres shortly after liberation from Japan must not be repeated in Gangjeong village today. Next year marks the 60th commemorating year of the cession of the Korean War. The Cease Fire Agreement must be replaced with a Peace Agreement to permanently prevent war and to systematize peace.

    I dream of the day when the peace of North East Asia starts with the peace in Gangjeong village and on the Korean peninsula, by engaging international solidarity to Gangjeong village for the Jeju naval base budget cut and to stop construction, and with the establishment of the Government through regime change that would realize inter-Korean conciliation and cooperation, concluding with a peace agreement in Korea.

     

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  • Statements against the ruling party’s snatch of budget bill in the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly on Nov. 28

    Photo by Jeong Dawoori/ Fr. Mun Kyoohyun, Mayor Kang and Fr. Mun Jeong-hyun (From the left) directly after shaving the heads in protest of the ruling party’s snatch of the budget bill on the Jeju naval base project on November 29 in Seoul. For more photos by Cho Sung-Bong, see here (Facebook post by Regina Pyon)

    In the morning of Nov. 28, as the news was told that the Saenuri Party unilaterally railroaded the 2013 Jeju naval base budget without the presence of the Democratic United Party (main opposition party/ ‘DP,’ afterward) members in the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, four Jeju-based or born National Assembly men and women (all DP) made a protest statement.  The Jeju Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of Military Base and for Realization of Peace Island and National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island also made a joint statement. And those were followed by the villagers’ emergency statement upon the above news and intensified protest with the arrest of three people in the village on the day (All were released as of Dec. 1).  The people including the villagers would declare on hair-shaving and fast protest on No. 29.  The below is the collection of the three statements(translated) on Nov. 28. The statements reflect the degree of people’s fury on the ruling Saenuri’ party’s creeping of the National Assembly and its snatch of the budget bill on the Jeju naval base project.  For  Nov. 29 protest photos and summary, see here

    ………………………………………………….

    1. Four National Assembly members ‘statement:

    The Saenuri Party’s pass of budget on the Jeju naval base in snatched way should be revoked!! It should be totally nullified!!

    Today [on Nov. 28], the Saenuri Party passed the Jeju naval base budget in snatched way in the general meeting of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly.  Even though the ruling and opposition parties had talked to dispose the issue by agreement through enough discussion, the Saenuri party ignoring it, acted with even snatchin an unreserved way.

    It has never been precedent in the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly that a budget bill was passed in a snatched way even with a vote in its budget examination. It is because there is no ruling and opposition regarding security matter.

    We, the present National Assembly members have claimed whole cut of the Jeju naval base project budget for four reasons on Nov. 5, 2011. We especially stated that whole cut of budget is inevitable for construction stop and whole re-examination because the Government has not properly carried out the subsidiary opinion by the Budget and Balance Special Committee of the National Assembly in 2007 that the Government would use the base as the ‘Jeju Civilian-Military Port of Call’; and National Assembly’s five recommendations such as ‘conclusion on the protocol with the Jeju Island,’ presented during the budget examination by the Budget and Balance Special committee of the National Assembly in 2011 (* See the below reference)

    Despite that, the Saenuri Party ignored the dignity of the National assembly by itself, acting snatch of the bill in an unreserved way on today, Nov. 28.  In relation to the Jeju naval base project, the Saenuri Party committed a behavior of violation on the National Assembly that it passed the 2013 Jeju naval base budget in snatched way as the original Government proposal even without subsidiary opinion.

    The Jeju naval base project is dividing the Jeju Island people. Even though the National Assembly has a natural responsibility to settle such conflicts during the examination process on budget, the ruling and Saenuri Party and Park Geun-Hye, Presidential candidate of the Party have shown no will on the settlement of conflicts among the Jeju Island people and no true will on the unity of citizens.

    The present National Assembly members strongly denounce the Saenuri party’s Jeju naval base budget-snatching and declare it is a total nullity.

    Nov. 28, 2012

    Kang Chang-Il. Kim U-Nam. Kim Jae-Yoon and Jang Hana, Democratic United Party, all the present

    The five recommendations by the Budget and Balance Special Committee of the National Assembly in 2011 are:

    △ Revision of enforcement decree on the Port Act and change of basic plan on harbor and bay so that the base can be designated as a trade port [in part]/ Revision of enforcement decree on Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act for the guarantee of entry/exit of cruise / Conclusion on the protocol on the civilian-military joint use on the harbor and bay among the Ministry of National Defense (MND), Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) and Jeju Island

    △ Consultation on the division of the rights on official regulations on harbor & bay: And conclusion on maintenance/repair of harbor & bay facility.

    (*On June 29, the revisions on the two bills mentioned above were promulgated. But the protocol was not concluded yet because of the Jeju Island’s raising of question on technical verification on the entry/exit of cruise. There is also the Jeju Island’ dissatisfaction on the rights of official regulation. See here.)

    △ Technical examination on the possibility of port entry by 150,000 ton cruise

    (* It turned out that, according to recently disclosed technical verification simulation movie, it is possible for cruise to enter the port only by support of four tug boats. See here.)

    △ Support on the vicinity areas of the Gangjeong village)

    (* On Oct. 25, the villagers dissipated the hearing supervised by the Office of Prime Minister, saying the villagers are not deceived by so called local decelopment with the projecy. See here)

    △ The procedures and ways on the investigation on the surface of the earth for cultural treasures to be processed in lawful way.

    (* The investigation on cultural treasured were full of law-evasiveness and illegality)

    (Source: Jeju Sori, Nov. 29, 2012)

    Photo by Lee Woo-Ki, Nov. 29, 2012/ Jang Hana, a young National Assembly woman who has disclosed many times on the government fraud on the Jeju naval base project, cries right after Fr. Mun Jeong-Hyun shaved his hair with the start of fast in protest of the Saenuri Party’s snatching the budget bill on the Jeju naval base project on Nov. 28, in front of the National Assembly in Seoul in the morning of Nov. 29. For more photos, click here and here.Photographer Lee Wooki says. ‘Jang Hana, a newly elected member of the National Assembly and a Jeju-born. While fighting lonely and laboriously against enormously established political power, her heart is always for Gangjeong…Now she is the only true National Assembly member in South Korea.’

     

    2. Statement by the Pan-Island and nationwide organizing committees to stop the naval base regarding the ruling party members’ snatch of the budget bill in the National Defense committee of the National Assembly

    The below  is a translation. Its original Korean statement can be seen here.

    ……………………………………………………………………………….

    Dismantle the Saenuri Party that has disposed the Jeju naval base budget in snatched way!

    -The Democratic United Party should actively stand to cut the budget!

    1. The 2013 Jeju naval base budget that should be fair to be totally cut was disposed in snatched way by the Saenuri Party in the National Defense committee of the National Assembly in the morning of Nov. 28. The members of the Saenuri Party belonging to the National Defense Committee repeated bad habit as the members of ‘the party specialized in snatch’ to pass the budget bill on the Jeju naval base that the Defense Program Administration Agency has proposed. It was a snatch carried out in 10 minutes of the opening ofmeeting in the meeting room of the National Defense committee of the National Assembly.

    2. The Jeju naval base project has been unilaterally enforced ignored of the principles such as local residents’ agreement and lawful procedure. Under the Lee Myung-Bak government of the Saenuri Party, nothing has been done with proper elucidation and verification from the total base layout flaws to the controversy on unreliable caisson production and outside pressure to the verification meeting supervised under the Office of Prime Minister.

     The recommendation items last year which had been through the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties of the Budget and Balance sub-committee of the National Assembly have been seldom kept. In such situation, the snatching budget-pass by the Seanuri Party this time means they merely overturned their decision items by themselves.

    Even though it turned out to be impossible for two 150,000 ton cruises for the Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty to come alongside the pier-which the Government has at least promised- as a result of verification and therefore the members of the Saenuri Party know that they need new access to that matter, they thoroughly ignored it.

    3. In the time faced of the Presidential election, the snatched passage of budget this time by the members of the Saenuri Party of the National Assembly is merely a mean-spirited trick, reflected of its intention on security trade with the issue of the Jeju naval base.

    Especially even though candidate Park Geun-Hye has said that she would make the Jeju as the 2nd Hawai’i with the building of the Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty, which is nothing to do with the will of the Jeju Island people, it is only to betray citizens for the party to stand idle on the passage of budget in the situation when even basic verification has not even been completed. If the party is to make great unity while deceiving citizens, the party should be basically dismantled and its candidate has to be declared of having no basic quality [as the President (candidate)]

    4. The Democratic United Party should also actively respond on the matter of the Jeju naval base. In relation to the Jeju naval base, candidate Moon Jae-In has promised to the citizens and Jeju Island people on construction stop and re-examination. Even though it was not without the efforts by a part of the party, it is still a question whether the Democratic United Party has possibly acted to properly keep such promise. Even now, we demand the Democratic United Party actively step to keep the promise by candidate Moon and its party opinion of construction stop and re-examination during the remaining process by Budget and Balance Committee of the National assembly.

    Nov. 28, 2012

    Jeju Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of Military Base and for Realization of Peace Island

    National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island

    Photo by Emily Wang, Nov. 29, 2012/ For more photos by Emily Wang, see here and here.
    Photo by Jang Hyun-Woo, Nov. 29. For more photos by Jang Hyun-Woo, see here. / Even during the people’s hair-shaving event in protest of the Saenuri Party’s snatch of budget bill on Nov. 28,  police oppressed them only to make construction vehicles to enter and exit the main gates of the Jeju naval base project area, enforced in the Gangjeong village, Jeju

    ……………………………………………………………………………….

    3. Villagers Emergency statement (Original Korean statement can be seen here)

    Candidate Park Geun-Hye proved out that she is a ghost of the military dictatorship that would lead the Republic of Korea into a dark age.

    -Denouncing the Saenuri Party that passed the 2013 Jeju naval base budget in snatched way

    The Saenuri Party passed the next year budget on the Jeju naval base project as its original proposal without the presence of the members of the Democratic United Party in the general meeting of the Budget and Balance committee of the National Assembly.

    Even though the Jeju naval base has a name of so called the Civilian–Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty, it is strictly a military base and of a security project. A security project is a business that absolutely needs people’s agreemet therefore it is a project that the ruling and opposition parties should make an agreement and allocate budget. Still the Saenuri Party abusing its more than half seats in the National Defense committee passed the budget in snatching way. It is the behavior of infringement on the National Assembly as the Jeju-based National Assembly members of the Democratic United Party claim.

    As a result, it was disclosed that the Lee Myung Bak government turned out to be irresponsible regime, lack of morality as already seen in the affairs of private property in Naegokdong, Seoul, BBK, inspection on the civilian; to ignore public poll and enforce the projects distrusted by citizens as seen in the four river project and nuclear power plant; and to increase the gap between the rich and poor for its economy policy centered around the Chaebol(재벌/ a South Korean form of business conglomerate). Still it was also disclosed that Park Geun-Hye, candidate of the Saenuri Party is not willing to punish the current regime and heads for another immoral regime which is not different from the Lee Myung Bak government, as to look on snatched pass of budget bill even on a security project.

    How the Saenuri Party dares to make limp of the budget bill in snatched way in the National Assembly during the Presidential election perod, if not from the intention to return back to the Yushin period with the election of candidate, Park Geun-Hye, as the President, following Lee Myung-Bak regime that is told to have retrogressed Democracy to decades ago!

    If candidate Park Geun-Hye does not apologize on the incident on the snatched bill and does not cooperate on budget cut, The Gangjeong Village Association will enter the campaign to defeat candidate Park Geun-Hye, together with all the solidaity groups who are with the Gangjeong village and all democratic citizens in this country who resist to self-righteousness and dictatorship.

    And Fr. Mun Jeong-Hyun, mayor Kang Dong-Kyun etc will start undefined fast and hair-shaving for the purpose of whole 2013 budget cut on the Jeju naval base project, from tomorrow of Nov. 29, in protest against candidate Park Geun-Hye and Saenuri Party that forcefully carried out snatching of the budget bill in the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly. We have a strong faith that history has been always for the victory of people that have broken down the violent coercion by dictatorships. Therefore we will win without fail and will fight until we win.

    Finally, we ask Presidential candidate Moon Jae-In and Democratic United Party to make all the efforts to cut the whole budget on the Jeju naval base with the willingness to judge immoral candidate and party.

    Nov. 28

    The Gangjeong Village Association

     

    Photo by Emily Wang, Nov. 29, 2012/ Mr. Go Gwon-Il, Chairman of the Villagers’ Committee to Stop the naval base, holds a sign om the current conscientious prisoners against the naval base project
    Photo By Jang Hyun-Woo, Nov. 29, 2012/ Jeong Young-Hee, Chairwoman of the Village Women’s Association. It is her 2nd time to shave hair in protest against the naval base project. She has cut her hair on May 26 in protest of the Island governor who is complicit to enforce the naval base project.

    …………………………………………………………..

    Article on Nov. 28 protest in Gangjeong, see here and here(Carol Reckinger)

    Summary and photos (Seoul, Gagnjeong)  of Nov. 29 protest (in English), see here and here (Carol Reckinger)

    Summary and photos of Seoul protest on Nov. 29 (in Korean): See Catholic News, Nov. 29, 2012

    Videos on Nov. 29 protest

    20 people shaved the heads in Seoul and Gangjeong, Sit-in overnight protest and fasting started in front of National Assembly on November 29, against the government budget bill of Jeju naval base railroaded in the defense committee only with the presence of the ruling party members. The night of Seoul and Gangjeong is very very cold. . .Videos by Dunguree 박성수 (Facebook post by Regina Pyon)

    Video on Seoul protest, Nov. 29 (Source: Click here)

    Video on Gangjeong protest, Nov. 29 (Source: Click here)

    Video on Gangjeong protest, Nov. 28 (Source: Click here)

  • Gangjeong Rises Up in Anger at Lack of Budget Cuts for the Jeju Naval Base Project

    Police attack, a Jeju islander on top of a van in front of the naval site main gate. Image: Carole Reckinger

    In response to the news that the Jeju Naval Base project budget for 2013, 200,900,000,000 Won, was passed completely without any cuts by the National Assembly and the majority holding Saenuri Party, Jeju citizens, villagers, and activists rose up in anger with direct action. Three people were arrested.

    An activist chained beneath a van. Image: Carole Reckinger

    Two vehicles were parked in front of the gates to the naval base site and people chained themselves underneath. At one gate, Anglican priests held a prayer service and at the other another person climbed on the roof of a van wrapping himself in barbed wire. People surround the vehicle with their bodies, firewood, junk, and whatever else they can find as usual. Soon hundreds of police arrived. They surrounded the Anglican prayer service so that they couldn’t leave and join the other gate’s struggle. Then they moved to the main gate of the construction site.

    The van is towed away. Image: Carole Reckinger

    There police surrounded the people and made their usual “gochak” detention circles to throw the people in, blocking them from blocking the gate. One by the one, people were dragged away and thrown in the detention circles. Then they roughly knocked down the person on top of the van, without regard for his safety. He was arrested. Then they cut the chains off the person under the van and arrested him along with a person who was simply accompanying to check his condition, totaling three arrests. Finally the van was towed away and the cement trucks went in and out. But it took almost an hour and a half.

    It was a very heavy struggle which left many villagers and activists in tears. The police, seemingly indifferent, soullessly did their jobs and walked away.

    Tomorrow, in response to the lack of budget cuts their will be protests in Seoul and several people including Father Mun Jeong Hyun and Gangjeong Village Mayor Kang will shave their heads and begin fasting. The budget will now go to the final stage, the Budget and Balance Committee.

    A Gangjeong villager mourns the unceasing oppression and destruction of his hometown. Image: Save Jeju Now

  • Island governor sides with the navy on budget despite suspicious breakwater construction before simulation


    Photo by Cho Sung-Bong/ The 14th caisson. Despite the Island governor’s demand to the navy on Oct. 30 to stop the input of caisson on the sea until the finish of simulation on 150,000 ton cruise, the navy thoroughly ignores that. The navy-contracted company, Samsung C & T moved the 14th 8,800 ton caisson from the Hwasoon port to Gangjeong sea on Nov. 15. See more photos by Cho, here.

     

    During both days of Nov. 16 and 17, issues regarding the budget on the Jeju navy base project were hot, especially with the Island governor’s request to the visiting Democratic United Party members to pass the budget on subsidiary condition. The villagers criticized on it with statement (see its translation on No.3). This article is a summary of four subjects during both days.

    The four subjects are:

    1. Even no discussion: National Assembly discussion on budget was postponed again because of gap between the parties.
    2. Controversy on the matter of fair simulation
    3. Island governor, Woo Keun-Min, sides with the navy. Villagers criticize his will to pass the budget
    4. Suspicion on the navy’s enforcement of breakwater construction before simulation is raised.
    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

    1. Even no discussion: National Assembly discussion on budget was postponed again because of gap between the parties.

     The Jeju media report:

    The National Defense committee of the ROK National Assembly had the plan to hold the 3rd Budget and Balance sub-committee meeting in the morning of Nov. 16. It was to talk on the direction on the disposal on the 200.966 billion won budget for the Jeju naval base project, 2013. However the committee could not even discuss on it.

    The Budget and Balance sub-committee has had the meetings on Nov. 7 to 8 and Nov. 12 but those have been with no result as the parties could only confirm different positions between them.

    The National Defense Committee plans to have its general meeting on Nov. 19, Monday, and will try to reach to an agreement. If it is without result again, it will consider on opening the Budget and Balance sub-committee again.

    In the Nov. 19 meeting, talks on the Jeju naval base and inspection on K2 tank will be talked.

    The biggest reason that the disposal on the Jeju naval base budget has met difficulty is because of big gap between the ruling and opposition parties.

    The ruling Saenuri Party (New Frontier party) is insisting its position to pass the budget as the original proposal by the Defense Acquision Program Administration (DAPA). However the Democratic United Party (DP, afterward), the main opposition party has different opinions of whole cut, part cut and conditional pass within the party.

    The National Assembly has cut 96% (127.8 billion won) of 132.7 billion budget last year. However, unused budget of about 107 billion won in 2011 was transferred to 2012 with law-evasive way.

    How you can help? Please pressure as seen in No. 2 of here. The pressure works.

     

    2. Controversy on the matter of fair simulation

    Otherwise, regarding the decision by the Office of Prime Minister on Nov. 15 that it would ‘show’ (not ‘verification) on the simulation of 150,000 ton cruises, accepting the request by the Jeju island government, anti-base groups criticized on it on Nov. 16, saying, “The [Office’s] acceptance on simulation means that the Office acknowledges itself that there was problem on the trust matter in the 2nd simulation.”

    The groups including the Gangjeong Village Association, Pan-Island and National Organizing Committees  to stop the Jeju naval base, criticized that the Prime Minister Office’s acceptance of simulation is merely to pass the budget on the naval base project.

    The groups also said:

    “However, the limitations in the conditions of simulation that the Jeju Island government and Office of Prime Minister agree with each other are too clear to clarify on the citizens’ suspicions on the safety of the navigation by 150,000 ton cruises . The Jeju Island government has asked simulations on five types but the Office reduced them into two because the Office hard pressured the Island government to concede it.

    The groups also pointed out:

    “Among the three researchers in the ‘show’ team, two are recommended by the Government. Further one of them, Lee Yoon-Suk, professor of Maritime University has already brought serious controversy on objectivity and fairness matters in his order of service in the second simulation [of which the report came out on Feb. 23, 2012].”

     

    Reference:

    On July 18, 2012, the Jeju-based or origin four National Assembly members of Kang Chang-Il, Kim U-Nam, and Jan Hana (All DP) have raised an issue that the 2nd simulation on the control of ships, which should be based on observing regulations, has not been properly carried out. The four members pointed out that there are serious flaws in the 2nd simulation and demanded the Government and navy temporary stop of construction and observance on the National Assembly subsidiary opinion in 2011.

    In October, 2011, the sub-investigation committee on the Jeju naval base project that belonged to the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly recommended to the Government to “verify on the matter of free entry/exit of port for two 150,000 cruises through the specialized 3rd institute in need. However, the Ministry of National Defense unilaterally carried out simulation and made public the 2nd report in February 23, 2012.

    Otherwise, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs submitted its opinion statement to the four members around July that it is desirable to carry on simulation again because there is a great risk of danger by occurrence of accident, with the low variables given in the 2nd simulation scenario.

    (See the Korean language Hankyoreh article on July 18, 2012)

     

    3. Island governor Woo Keun-Min sides with the navy. Villagers criticize his will to pass the  budget

    Four members of the Democratic United Party, belong to the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly visited Woo Keun-Min, Island governor in the afternoon of Nov. 16. The four members are Park Min-Soo, Yang Seung-Jo, Choi Min-Hee and Choi Jae-Sung.

    The total number of the members in the Budget and Balance Committee is 51. Among them, 21 belong to the DP.

    To people’s indignation, the Island governor Woo asked the DP members to pass the budget on the condition that they stipulate the ‘subsidiary opinion’ of the National assembly last year. To be concrete, he suggested to stipulate that ‘[the Government] execute budget on the premise that the recommended items by the sub-investigation committee on the Jeju naval base under the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly last year to be carried out in substance.” (For detail, see the reference in the below)

    Hearing the governor, the four members promised to the governor that they would actively support for the proposed items by the Jeju Island governor in the National Assembly. However, it is still uncertain for the DP as the party has taken construction stop and re-examination of project as the party opinion since April 11 general election, despite its recent being stirred regarding budget.

    Source: Jeju Sori, Nov. 16, 2012. Governor Woo (right in the photo) asked four visiting members of DP belong to the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly to pass the budget on naval base on Nov. 16, 2012.

     

    Here is the villagers’ statement refuting on the governor’s such behavior (translated from the original Korean statement):

     

    Why does Island governor, Woo Keun-Min represent the interest of navy?

    Island Governor Woo has finally revealed his hidden intention.

    While he has shown his shifting attitude many times such as in the hearing on the navy in May when he was even seem to consider to make order the navy to stop construction, [on Nov. 16] he requested to [the visiting four DP members] to pass the budget [on the Jeju naval base project] with subsidiary conditions as the budget got brake in the National Assembly.

    It has been clearly turned out that the Jeju naval base is a project that would make the Jeju Island to be militarized with the posturing cover of civilian-military complex. The proof is that it is conditioned that ships’ entry and exit of port is only possible under the permission of jurisdiction unit commander in the revision on the enforcement order on Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act. It has also been exposed that the CNFK (Commander of US Navy Forces of Korea) has demanded the layout possible for nuclear aircraft carrier to come alongside the pier and it has been accepted in building of it.

    Through exposed meeting minutes by the technical verification committee under the Minister of Prime Office, we could also confirm the will of the Government who is to drive the project without base design change. The Prime Minister office accepted the joint simulation show to merely pass the naval base budget next year in its hidden intention. It is the calculation of timing that it is to that extent only once the National Assembly passes budget biting the [government acceptance] of simulation verification that could be done only next year.

    Combining all those situations. it is clear that the ROK Government neither concerns with the interest of the Jeju Island nor the public sentiment of the Island people. It is mad only to drive for military base project, hammering away to ignore even the position of the Jeju Island that is stepping toward international tourism site and whose role of bridge in the international civilian diplomacy is being promoted.

    Meanwhile the Jeju naval base project committee has enforced construction (destruction) hourly ignoring the demands by the Island governor. As if deriding his words that there should NOT be breakwater construction before verification, it is enforcing actual breakwater construction by stationing caisson, only without sands filled inside, and processing reclamation in the Metboori (* east tip of the project area) for the construction of breakwater shore protection. (See the below)

    In such situation, governor Woo demanded to the National Assembly to pass the 2013 Jeju naval base budget when the Office of Prime Minister agreed with re-revelation on simulation, which is not re-verification. Even though he says he conditioned that the budget should be executed under proper verification, there is no reason that Island governor demand to pass the budget since the budget that might be passed by then purely comes from the Ministry of National Defense, not from the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs.

    Why does governor Woo demand the budget from the Ministry of National Defense?

    Is he entirely forgetting that he is the governor of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Island?

    Is he naively expecting that the navy would step for proper verification if it is allocated with budget?

    Why is he requesting to pass the budget in prior to a proper simulation while the navy could be re- allocated with special budget after it as it wants?

    Finally it was proved out that the Island governor Woo Keun-Min has no concern with whether the Jeju naval base would be a proper civilian-military complex port for Tour Beauty or not; and whether the Island people would get any damage from it or not. We don’t need Island governor who takes the lead as the representative of the navy and save only the interest of Samsung and Daelim.

    Nov. 17. 2012

    Gangjeong Village Association

    Reference:

    On Nov. 7, 2011, the sub-investigation committee on the Jeju naval base project under the Budget and Balance Committee of the National Assembly stipulated two recommendation items when they adopted its activity report.

    The first was the recommendation to revise the enforcement decree on the Port Act and Enforcement Decree on Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act and to conclude on the protocol on the joint use on the civilian-military harbor and bay, so that there should be no worry that the Jeju naval base would be operated centered on military port.

    The second is a fair simulation on the possibility of entry & exit by 150,000 ton cruises

    The revision on the decree has been carried out on June 29 while the talks on the conclusion on the protocol is still being processed and there remains the matter of simulation verification. The Jeju Island expects the simulation period at the end of December or January, next year.

    Otherwise, beside budget, governor Woo requested supports on other budgets. Among them, one of the noticeable is request for service work on the ‘basic plan to form the global environmental herb,’ which is for smooth drive of following measure after the 2012 WCC (0.7 billion won)

    (Translated: See the Jeju Sori on Nov. 16, here)

     

    4. Suspicion on the navy’s enforcement of breakwater construction before simulation is raised.

     

    On Oct. 18, 2012, Governor Woo has declared to the villagers in the talk meeting with them that he would ‘stop the breakwater construction in the Gangjeong Sea without fail’ even though it is difficult for him to order construction stop before simulation.”

    On May 1, 2012, even Park Geun-Hye, the daughter of military dictatorship and Presidential runner of the ruling conservative Saenuri Paty said that simulation verification has to be prior to construction on break water. See the Korean article on it here.

    However, the village has raised suspicion on Nov. 17 that the construction being done in the Metboori coast(in the east tip of the naval base project area) could be breakwater construction.

    Source: Jeju Sori, Nov. 17, 2012 (Original source: Gangjeong Village Association)/ Construction in the Metboori coast (east tip of the project area). In the map, the spot is marked with red color,  planned to be the east breakwater shore protection. The current construction on the spot  raises a suspicion that the navy is enforcing construction on breakwater by reclaiming land from the sea before simulation verification.  For more photos by Cho Sung-Bong, see here. The east part is also for docks for submarines and small ships.

     

    Given the photos by movie director Cho Sung-Bong, the sands and stones being put into the sea are in violation of the EIA. Those should be put into the sea after the washing process on the land. There is no washing facility for sands and stones inside the construction area and those coming from the field are directly put into the sea.”

    “The biggest problem is that substantial breakwater construction is being done. Given the photo (above), it is the area spot being reclaimed from the Metboori coast to the sea, along the silt protectors. This area belongs to the east breakwater shore protection ( * in charge of Daelim) and outer facilities on the base layout map.”  See the construction map here.

    “ not only that, the navy is processing the substantial construction on the west and south breakwaters, too, by stationing caissons. By when will the Island government on-look companies’ such law-evasive construction.

    Source: Headline Jeju, Nov. 17, 2012/ Working ships to station caissons to build west breakwater.
    Source: Headline Jeju, Nov. 17, 2012/ Working ships to station caissons to build southbreakwater.

     

    ………………………………………………..

    Reference

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165031
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    2012.11.16 12:25:18

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122626
    제주해군기지 예산 진통, 19일 전체회의서 논의
    2012.11.16 11:54:40

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165052
    강정-범대위 “총리실 시뮬레이션, 공정한 검증 이뤄져야”
    “총리실 수용은 객관성과 공정성 문제 스스로 인정한 것”
    2012.11.16 15:16:55

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122634
    제주해군기지 시뮬레이션, 공정성 논란 고개
    2012.11.16 14:40:00

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122562
    시뮬레이션 준비만 4~6주…올해 불가능할 듯
    2012.11.15 10:34:53

    (http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/area/543194.html
    “해군기지 2 차 시뮬레이션 중대 오류”
    제주 출신 국회의원, 공사 중단 요구
    국토부”선박 출입때 사고 위험 커”
    2012.07.18 19:25

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165050
    국회 예결위 의원들 제주 방문, 예산요청 사안 현장확인
    민주당 소속 의원 4명…우 지사와 면담
    2012.11.16 15:00:30

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165112
    ‘제주해군기지 예산’ 조건부 통과 건의에 강력 반발
    강정마을회 “우근민 지사는 왜 해군의 이익 대변하나”
    2012.11.17 11:28:51

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122648
    내년 제주해군기지 예산, ‘부대의견’ 달아 승인?
    2012.11.16 17:18:38

    http://www.sisajeju.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=164430
    해군기지 예산 난항…국회 예결위 민주의원들 제주지사 만나
    제주도 “예산승인시 부대의견 명시”건의…산지천 현장방문
    2012.11.16 18:07:34

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122661
    강정 “방파제공사만큼은 안한다더니•••”
    2012.11.17 13:59:22

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165121
    “검증도 안하고, 이미 제주해군기지 방파제 공사 시작?”
    강정마을회, ‘매립공사’ 조기착수 의혹 제기
    2012.11.17 15:11:35

  • Urgent: How you can help us to cut the budget overnight. Please take 1 minute/ People’s emergency press conference

    The National Defense Committee of the National Assembly will have its final meeting in the morning of Nov. 16, Friday, in Korean time. Its’ Nov. 12 meeting was dissipated because of wide gap between the ruling and main opposition party. But since then the Democratic United Party (DP), the main opposition party has shown its compromising attitude that it is considering to agree with the ruling Saenury Party (New Frontier Party) to pass all or part of the proposed budget on the Jeju naval base project, to the indignation of people. The people here have mobilized themselves to protest to the members of the DP through email, phone and SNS. There was people’s emergency press conference on Nov. 15. How you can help us overnight in short time? Please see the part 2 of this article.

    Photo by PSPD/ People’s press conference in front of the National Assembly on Nov. 15, 2012

    1. People’s emergency press conference on Nov. 15

    On Nov. 15, there was people’s emergency press conference to demand ruling and opposition parties to cut the whole  201 billion won of 2013 Jeju naval base project budget in front of the National Assembly at 1:30 pm. The Press conference was hosted by the Gangjeong Village Association, Jeju Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of Military Base and for the Realization of Peace Island (26 groups), National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing the Naval Base in Jeju Island (125 groups). Please watch Dungree video Here (Youtube). You can see the original Korean statement here (posted by the PSPD).

    Some points in the press conference statement read:

    Even though the Budget and Balance committee of the National Assembly 2011 has recommended the government and navy “to objectively verify on the safety matters of entry & exit of port and coming alongside & out of port by the 150,000 ton cruises through the 3rd institute,” the government and navy have ignored it. Despite that, the members of the ruling and opposition parties in the National Defense committee are to pass 200.9 billion won on the 2013 Jeju naval base project, without asking the matter on the execution on the National assembly recommendation item. The Jeju naval base project currently being enforced is in violation of the 2007 National assembly subsidiary opinion of ‘Civilian-Military Complex Port of Call,’ (* the Lee Myung Bak government has enforced the project under the title of the Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty) and also in violation of the 2011 Budget and Balance committee of the National Assembly recommendation item, the demand of verification on the possibility of entry & exit by 150,000 ton cruises. It is a case when a strict response by the National Assembly is needed in the sense that those are of ignorance of the authority of the National assembly that monitors the Administrative. Therefore it is reasonable that the National Assembly cut all 2013 budgets on the Jeju naval base, according to the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. […] However, Han Ki-Ho (* a former high-rank  army commander), member of the Saenuri Party, the person concerned in the ruling and opposition party’s agreement [in 2011] as a member of Budget and Balance Committee and now a chairman of the National defense committee  shows shameless appearance to condemn the voice on budget as if it is from that of pro North Korea.

    Photo by Tommy Shin Jung-Hyun/ People’s press conference to cut the Jeju naval base budget in front of National Assembly on Nov. 15, 2012

    There are some useful points to remind in the people’s protest letters to the two big ruling and opposition parties. Here are some excerpted translations.

    Protest letter to the Saenuri Party: Excerpts

    The government stated only today that it would accept the opinion by the Jeju Island government on simulation verification(It is in fact ‘revelation’ not ‘verification by the words of the Office of Prime Minister)‘. However, it has already been proved out that the [projected] port is difficult not only for 150,000 ton cruise’s entry-exit and coming alongside the pier but also for military vessels to properly enter and exit, through the meeting minutes by the ‘technical verification committee on the entry/ exit of cruse’ set up following the navy resource and National Assembly recommendation. Also construction has been unreliably, roughly-and-readily being done. So caissons that are to be used for port & bay construction have been completely destroyed, too. It is judged that the safety of port itself would not be guaranteed either.

    The Saenuri party thinks the Jeju naval base is certainly necessary for national security. However, if the Saenuri Party truly thinks security, it should take the lead to cut all budgets on the Jeju naval base project. It is because the Jeju naval base currently being constructed in Gangjeong has no validity for project purpose. It cannot even properly be used as a military port.

    The government takes protection of southern sea area and sea transportation lane as the purpose of the Jeju naval base project. However, there is no need to be stubborn to build the naval base in Jeju to protect the southern sea water. The government has already measure of the 3rd fleet in Mokpo that does not need another base in Jeju. Further the task of sea transportation lane is originally the duty of coast guard and it is never appropriate that military vessel steps for that, given the geographical conditions and relationship with nearby countries.

    Furthermore, it has been turned out through navy resource that the main facilities of the Jeju naval base are being designed and built according to the US military demand to fit for the vessels such as the US nuclear aircraft carrier [and submarines] that the US retain

    Protest letter to the Democratic United Party: Excerpts

    The remarks by Park Ji-Won, floor representative of Democratic United Party, who said that ‘[the party] would confirm on the test result on the entry/exit of port and then allocate budget,’ is never realistic, given the time to be taken for verification and schedule on budget review. Further in the situational condition that the Office of Prime Minister and navy enforce construction (destruction), ignoring the resolution by the National Assembly who demanded verification through simulation, there is no other alternative than to cut the whole budget (* so construction is to be stopped) to enforce verification. We worry  to see the words by [Moon Jae-In], Presidential candidate and [Park Ji-Won] floor representative to be over turned in a week.

    It seems that the reason that the Democratic United Party changed its position on the matter of cut on the Jeju naval base budget is because it judged that it would influence not  good effect in the Presidential election due to expected repulsion by the navy and conservative class and political aggression by the Saenuri party. However such position is defensive and passive without clear and reasonable basis.  In last [April 11] election, all the three Democratic United Party members who oppose naval base have been all elected in Jeju. If the candidate and Democratic United Party actively make public to citizens on various problems on the Jeju naval base in the mainland, it can get superior position in public opinion. The Democratic Party should take a lesson of a case that the people have rather punished the Grand National Party(former Saenuri Party) when the DP actively responded to the GP with the ‘war power vs. peace power’ frame,  facing against the GP who intended to win over DP in June 2 local election, abusing the Cheonan ship incident for hunting so called the ‘pro north-Korea’ groups.

    Photo by Hwang Hyun-Jin/ Humorous one man protest in front of National Assembly. ‘With 200.9 billion won, you can feed each of 50 million South Koreans with four strings of Kimbab (rice ball kind)

    Photo by Cho Sung-Bong/ Despite the Island governor’s demand to the navy on Oct. 30 to pose the input of caisson until the finish of simulation on 150,000 ton cruise, the navy thoroughly ignored that. The navy-contracted company is moving caisson on Nov. 14.  See more photos by Cho, here.

     

    2. URGENT: Please take 1 min. to help us. Please copy and paste the below and send it to these address below, with your name. You may change contents, of course. Thanks so much in advance.

    moonriver365@gmail.com, intoan429@hanmail.net,  2030minju@hanmail.net, kjy1@assembly.go.kr, jp311@assembly.go.kr, kmageneral@gmail.com , esh337@hanmail.net,  jinsj@assembly.go.kr

    ( Email address source: click here   )

    Title: Cut the whole budget on the Jeju naval base. The world is watching

    Dear Democratic United Party members of National Defense committee of the ROK National Assembly.

    Please cut all the budgets on the Jeju naval base project. I heard that your party is considering to agree with the ruling Saenuri party to pass the budget in all or part in the National Assembly.  It is a shame that your party considers it despite all illegal, undemocratic, environment destructive, human rights- violating matters of the Jeju naval base project that became clear to the eyes of internationals.  I was also shocked to hear that the Jeju naval base is nothing but the US base as the Commander of the US navy forces of Korea has intervened in the base design for US nuclear aircraft carrier and US submarines.

    Do you truly want the South Koreans’ tax paid for the US war base against China? It will greatly disturb peace in the North East Asia and world. Please remember that your deed will affect not only Koreans but voiceless creatures and people in the world.

    It is unbelievable and shame if your party agrees to pass the budget. Please stand on your original position of cutting all the budget of 201 billion won on the naval base project 2013.

    Thanks for listening.

     

    Photo by Carol Rekinga/ The hungerstrike of Sung Sim Jang, for more photos, click here
    Photo by Kang Han, Catholic News Now and Here/ Construction site, Nov. 13, 2012 (post by Regina Pyon)
    Photo by Kang Han, Catholic News Now and Here/ protest mass in front of construction gate, Nov. 12 (Post by Regina Pyon)

     

    3. Peace activists resist tenaciously and cry for stop of violence

    Please watch this 7 min. video taken by Kim Goon, a peacekeeper that daily appears in the protest site of the naval base construction gate. . The peacekeepers in Gangjeong persistently protest to stop the cement mixer trucks .The video was taken at 3:10pm, Nov. 14. They are fighting for the Jeju naval base project budgets not to be executed but cut, despite the police violence and humiliation.

    “All parts of our body are bruised… We have little time to inform about the field news since the start of 24 hour construction… All of us are longing the day when our routine life of being roughed out by the police will end…. We just hope to save the Gureombi, Gangjeong village and ourselves.” (Kim Goon)

    ( Youtube/ Source: Click here )

     

    Update on Nov. 16

    The police from Seoul were more violent on Nov. 16. They are the maneuver units of No. 21(male) and 24(female). The police were also violent on Nov. 15, probably because the Democratic United Party members showed compromising attitude on budget. A young activist was carried to a hospital during the protest on Nov. 15.

    ………………………..………………………

    Reference

     

    http://cafe.daum.net/peacekj/GeUz/169

    [11월 15일 기자회견] “2011년 국회 여야 합의-검증 없이 예산 없다”- 제주 해군 기지 예산 전액 삭감 촉구 긴급기자 회견

     

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=164947

    제주해군기지 시뮬레이션 검증 ‘합의’…”주야간 검증”

    총리실, 제주해군기지 시뮬레이션 검증 요구 전격 수용

    2개 케이스 시현…주야간 검증…책임연구원 교체키로

    2012.11.15  09:47:42

     

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122564

    강정마을회 “민주당 전액삭감 입장 끝까지 지켜야”

    “새누리당 이상일 대변인 발언은 정치적 공세···민주당은 예산 전액삭감 입장 유지해야”

    2012.11.15  11:17:35

     

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122559

    정부, 해군기지 15만톤 크루즈 시뮬레이션 수용

    2012.11.15  09:46:23

     

    http://www.catholicnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8445

    “강정마을, 예수처럼 쓰러져도 평화의 표지 될 것”

    ‘24시간 공사’ 이어지는 해군기지 앞 끈질기게 지키는 사람들

    2012.11.15  11:14:37

  • Emergency Update and Appeal: The DP is withdrawing from its promise to people! Please pressure them to cut all budgets on the naval base project!

     

    Photo by Tommy Shin Jung-Hyun/ Village mayor Kang Dong-Kyun makes a speech against the Jeju naval base project in front of the US embassy in the center of Seoul on Nov. 13, 2012: “US, listen to me!”

     

    Citing an article of Chosun Ilbo on Nov. 14, the Jeju Sori on Nov. 14 reports that the Democratic United Party is withdrawing from its official position of ‘whole cut’ on the 2013 Jeju naval base budget. It is considering ‘conditional pass,’ of about 200 billion won budget for 2013 naval base project. Its reasoning is told that because ‘it is afraid of bad influence to the Presidential election in December, if it cuts the 2013 budget on the project.’

    To the people’s indignation, the party has attributed its failure in April 11 general election to its changed position into the critique on the currently enforced naval base project to the dislike by the general South Korean citizens for whom security consciousness is presumed by the party to be important. Such analysis has gotten much criticism from the progressive who analyzed the party’s failure as the Party’s remaining unchanged without true renovations and the Party’s weak efforts to persuade people.

    The Pan-Island Committee for the Stop of Military Base and for the Realization of Peace Island stated in its refuting statement on Nov. 13.

    “While the technical verification committee is not neutral, the suspicions on the flaws of base design and on the unreliable caisson production has not disappeared. The matter on simulation has not properly done under the Lee Myung Bak government. It should be righteous that all the naval base budgets should be cut.”

    Photo by Cho Sung-Bong in his  Ohmynews article, Nov. 13 / The illegal naval base construction (destruction) is destroying environment in thorough violation of the EIA and wasting people’s tax enormously.

     

    “The Democratic United Party has promised on the construction stop and re-examination of the project, but is now being shifted to have an opinion of ‘partial [or all] pass with subsidiary conditions. To say ‘subsidiary opinion’ so and so is an attempt to dissipate its Presidential candidates’ promise to people.”  (* How self- contradictory for the Democratic United Party to say it is, reminding that the Party has cut the budget in 2012 because the navy did not kept the National Assembly’s subsidiary conditions in 2007.)’

    Regarding budget, while Presidential Candidate, Moon Jae-In (Democratic United Party) stated his position on Nov. 8 that the Party Opinion on the naval base project is to stop construction first then re-examination of the project.

    The Pan-Island committee has a plan to carry on one-man protest to demand the ‘whole budget cut,’ in front of the Jeju branch of the Democratic United party, Jeju City from the morning of Nov. 14.

    People here are mobilizing themselves to send protest messages to the facebooks and tweets of the members of the National Assembly.

    How you can help us to cut the budget? Please pressure the ROK National Assembly to cut the whole budget of naval base. Contact english@assembly.go.kr, or Moon Jae-In, Permanent Advisor, Democratic United Party, Presidential candidate: moonriver365@gmail.com

     Otherwise, please leave messages in the below sites to pressure the National Assembly members (Democratic United Party)

    Moon Jae-In’s Facebook page

    Ahn Kyu-Baek’s Facebook page (Ahn Kyu-Baek is a coordinator of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, Democratic United Party)

    Kim Woo-Nam’s Facebook Page (Kim Woo Name is the Jeju-based National Assembly man, Democratic United Party)

    Kang Chang-Il’s Facebook page   ( Kang Chang-Il e is the Jeju-based National Assembly man, Democratic United Party)

    Kim Jae Yun’s Facebook page (Kim Jae-Yun  is the Jeju-based National Assembly man, Democratic United Party)

    Jang Hana’s Facebook page (Jang Hana is the Jeju-origin National Assembly woman, Democratic United Party)

     

    # The Jeju based or origin National Assembly men/women (All are Democratic United Party members)  are making their best efforts to cut the budget. Please encourage and support them to put more pressure to their party colleagues. Thanks Abigail for providing above  facebook  information.

     

    TWEET/ EMAIL  ADDRESS/ PHONE NUMBER of the National Defense Committee (Democratic United party):

     

    Ahn Kyu-Baek (Floor vice- representative of the Party)  @AGBhope        intoan429@hanmail.net     02-788-2601

    Baek Goon-Ki      @kmageneral       kmageneral@gmail.com      02-788-2893

    Kim Gwang-Jin      2030minju@hanmail.net        02-788-2029

    Lee Suk-Hyun      @lsh4u     esh337@hanmail.net        02-788-2951

    Kim Jae-Yun     @kimJaeyun      kjy1@assembly.go.kr      02-788-2066

    Jin Sung-Joon (Floor vice- representative of the Party)

    Kim Jin-Pyo (Floor representative of the Party)

    ( Source: Click here  and here)

     


    Photo by Kang Ho-Jin, Nov. 13/Peace activists are holding one-man protest in front of the National Assembly to cut the budgets on the naval base project. With 200 billion own, there are so many things that you can do for people’s welfare: Free meals and education for children, tuition support for students, irregular workers’ position change to regular workers etc.
    Photo by Cho Sung-Bong in his  Ohmynews article, Nov. 13 /People are desperate to stop 24 hour construction(destruction) that started on Oct. 25. The photo is on Oct. 26 when people are desperate to stop construction vehicles in front of the main gates of the construction site.

     ………………………………………………………..

    Reference

     

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122509

    민주, 제주해군기지 예산 조건부 통과? 이상기류

    2012.11.14  09:43:36

     

    http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/11/14/2012111400247.html

    민주 “제주해군기지 예산 통과시킬 것”

    2012.11.14 03:00 | 수정 : 2012.11.14 09:20

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122496

    민주당 해군기지 예산 조건부 통과? 범대위 발끈

    2012.11.13  18:40:22

     

     

  • Save the vigil tents! Vigil tents in Gangjeong and Seoul/ National Assembly could not conclude on budget yet

    1. Villagers say, ‘No way!’ to the threat of demolition of vigil tents

    Photo by Park Yongsung/ Villagers keeping the tents overnight against 24 hour destruction, Nov. 11

    While villagers set up two vigil tents across the construction gates against 24 hour construction (destruction) on Nov. 11. Sunday, the City hall of Seogwipo City is threatening villagers to be  volunteering to remove them. If not the City will enforce demolition of them, it bluffs.

    Currently the facilities set up by the villagers across the gates are: A tent built just across the main gate, a stage vehicle (Both of them have been set up long time ago) and the two recent tents mentioned above.

    The Seogwipo City decided to demolish tents reasoning that since the tens were set up in the side of road, they are the obstacles for traffic and that there have been complaints by some people who are inferred to be navy-contracted company personnel and pro-base villagers.

    Villagers’ two new vigil tents, Nov. 12, 2012

    It is known that the Seogwipo City has not decided way and time of demolition: whether it will mobilize a form of ‘administrative execution’ that needs three times notices to people with demand on volunteering removal or ‘emergency removal’ (according to the law on roads) that does not need such notice.

    The Seogwipo City hall personnel said that if emergency removal is decided, the demolition will be enforced within this week at fast.

    Upon such threat, Go Gwon-Il, Chairman of the Villagers’ Committee to Stop the Naval Base refuted, “It is senseless for the Seogwipo City to say that it would demolish only our tents while it does neither restrain nor punish the navy’s illegal construction(destruction). If the Seogwipo City enforces it, we will stop such unjust execution with all our energy.”

    Jang Sungshim met her 6th fast as of Nov. 12.

     

    2. Press conference on the opening of collective vigil tents in Seoul

    Photo by Lee Woo-Ki, People’s press conference in Seoul, Nov. 12. For many more photos on the Seoul press conference by Lee Wooki, see here.

    Meanwhile, the people in Seoul held the press conference on opening  joint vigil tents’ zone in the center of Seoul in the morning of the same day. The tent zone, succeeding the collective spirit of the Great March for Life and Peace: We are the SKY is hosted by people under the title of ‘Let’s live together!:A vigil zone formed by the unity of the Ssangyong workers, Yongsan families, Gangjeong village and non-nuclear-declared villages.’ See the photos by Lee Woo-Ki here.

    Otherwise, the Chosun Ilbo, the most conservative right wing media in South Korea, had a criticizing article on the Seoul vigil tent zone on the top of its 1st page that it is illegal. The article also criticized that Park Won-Soon, mayor of Seoul has no intervention on it and supports tent zones.

    Upon this, a peace activist joked on it, “Thank you Chosun Ilbo, you are introducing us very big while we have suffered from little media coverage during our great march. You please us at the end.”

    Photo by Park Yongsung/ The most conservative right wing Chosun Ilbo had a top article on the people’s Seoul vigil tents in its website on Nov. 13, 2012
    A Newsis photo shown in the article in the top of the most conservative right wing Chosun Ilbo website, Nov. 13, 2012.

     

    3. Talk on budget could not be concluded in the National Assembly on Nov. 12. Next talk is Nov. 16

    The media reports that the National Defense committee of the National Assembly could not conclude on the talk on the 200 billion won of the 2013 Jeju naval base project budget on Nov. 12, Monday.

    In detail, it reads:

    The National Defense committee of the ROK National Assembly has planned to have the 2nd meeting (following the 1st meeting on Nov. 8) by its Budget and Balance sub-committee on the Jeju naval base project budget 2013 (earmarked by the Defense Acquision Program Administration) in the morning of Nov. 12.

    However, because of wide gap between the ruling and opposition parties, the sub-committee could not be held on the day. While the Democratic United Party demands the ‘whole cut’ of budget, claiming that  the Jeju naval base project construction is being enforced in inappropriate way, the ruling Saenuri Party (New Frontier Party) confronts it, demanding ‘part cut’ and saying the project should be driven as planned.

    Kim Jae-Yoon, member of the Defense Committee (Seogwipo-City based, Democratic United Party) said that “The party opinion of the Democratic United Party is to totally cut the [2013] Jeju naval base project budget that was not kept of the National Assembly subsidiary opinion [in 2007]. I am determined to cut the budget”

    The National Defense Committee has a plan to re-open the Budget and Balance sub-committee in the morning of Nov. 16 through agreement and tuning between the coordinators of the parties.

     

    EMERGENCY UPDATE and APPEAL (Nov. 14): See HERE

    Citing an article of Chosun Ilbo on Nov. 14, the Jeju Sori on Nov. 14 reports that the Democratic United Party is withdrawing from its official position of ‘whole cut’ on the 2013 Jeju naval base budget. It is considering ‘conditional pass,’ of about 200 billion won budget for 2013 naval base project. Its reasoning is told that because ‘it is afraid of bad influence to the Presidential election in December, if it cuts the 2013 budget on the project.’ [..]How you can help to CUT THE BUDGET? Please see the link.

     

    Photo by Lee Wooki/ Village mayor Kang Dong-Kyun holds a sign that denounces Han Ki-Ho, a member of National Defense committee of the National Assembly and ruling Saenuri Party(New Frontier Party)who condemns the anti-base people as if they are pro North Korea. Dungree made a satire video on Han Ki-Ho. Watch it here.
    Photo by Christian Carl/ ‘No Naval Base on Jeju’ – our demand on today’s Nat’l Workers’ Rally in Seoul…

     

    ……………………………………………….

    Reference

     

    http://www.jejusori.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=122430

    여야, 제주해군기지 예산 놓고 연이어 격돌

    2012.11.12  13:47:04

     

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=164705

    해군기지 공사장 앞 천막 철거소식에 강정주민 반발

    서귀포시, 천막 강제철거 결정…강정 “절대 안돼”

    2012.11.12  11:11:31