A Deceptive Apology Without Truth Examination/ The Jeju Navy Base entry road project/ The importance of people’s opinions (Update on the Jeju 2nd airport)/ Troubled Seogwipo City Bypass, the 2nd airport connection road/ Denouncing RIMPAC and ROK-US War exercises/The withdrawal of the THAAD System is a key link for peace/ Taiwan and RIMPAC/ Okinawa Update/ On The 75th Anniversary Of the Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki/ Beirut Port Explosion, The trial for entering Gureombi Rock/ “We still live in Miryang and Gangjeong” exhibition, Korea Peace Appeal etc.
For the construction of the 2nd Jeju airport in Seongsan, east of Jeju Island, at least 12 Oreums (parasitic cones), 42 wells of spring water, 43 species of birds, 11 lava caves and 16 cultural shrines are at the risk of destruction/ Image from google.
It was February 20th, the next day of opening of Island Council provisional meeting that Won Hee-ryong, Jeju Island governor, announced his will to drive for the 2nd Jeju airport project. His deed infuriated Island people as they were demanding the Council to make a resolution to stop the basic planning for the 2nd Jeju airport. About 27 of 43 Island council members were signing to the draft of resolution by Feb. 19th, also. Further, Won’s lengthy statement intended to persuade the Islanders to accept the project was full of data manipulation and lies. By the latest poll, only 3 of 10 Islanders are in favor of the project. One of the noticeable points of Won’s statement was his repeated denial on peopel’s suspicion that the 2nd Jeju airport could be used as an air force base.
So far, the 2nd Jeju airport is reported as a project driven only by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT). It is very rare that the Ministry of National Defense(MND) appears in the news, in relation to the 2nd Jeju airport. Despite that, many situations strengthen Islanders’ suspicion that it is an air force base. Even an Island Council member was clearly saying to the hunger strikers that it is nothing but an air force base when they visited him. I was one of them who talked with him.
Upon this, one of major local TVs called KBS Jeju, made a series of news regarding the controversy over the issue of an air force base. The below is a translation of its news on Feb. 22, 2019 . Here I also translated the history of MND drive for the air force base in Jeju at the bottom of this page.
It was around 1970s when the South Korean Ministry of National Defense(MOD) planned an air force base in Jeju, which includes fighter planes unit.
2. Since then, the MOD has reflected the plan in its national defense mid-term plans. And in 2007, it changed the title to so called the “Southern Rescue and Search unit” which is alledgedly equipped only with support aircrafts, not fighter planes.
3. However in 2007, Roh Hoe-chan, a backup President candidate for the Democratic Labor Party then and a former National Assembly man who passed away in 2018, visited Jeju and claimed that the Southern Rescue and Search unit is presented with fighter planes.
According to his claim, the numbers of budget, area size including runaway, and
affiliated facility are same between the plans of air force base and Southern
Rescue and Search unit. In detail,
_Budget (250 billion won=around $ 250 million USD)
_ Size of the area including runaway (600,000 pyong=around 2 million square meters=around 200 hectare) _Affiliated facility= 100 buildings
“The MOD should clearly explain. If it had really given up the ability to accept fighter planes, why the budget, area size, and facility size [of Southern Rescue and Search unit] were never cut,” (Roh, a National Assembly man, DLP, then, at the press conference on May 21th, 2007/ recorded)
Then the MOD stated that the size of its plan before the mid-term plan in 2004 was around 1,750,000 pyong (around 5.8 million square meters=around 580 hectare) for the purpose of deployment of a squadron. But it removed the concept of accommodation of fighter planes since the mid-term plan in 2007, it stated.
4. However, in a TV discussion meeting just before the selection of location of
Jeju Navy base, a staff of MOD hinted that a matter of connection between the 2nd
Jeju airport and air force base could be set off any time.
Q: “Don’t you acknowledge that air force power cannot but enter [to Jeju] in relation to navy base (and defense)? Even though it will not be in current stage.?” (Reporter)
A: “Yes, Even though it will not be in current stage..” (Choi Gwang-seob, director of resource management Dept, MND, May 8th, 2007/ recorded)
5. And 10 years later of it, on March 9th, 2017, Jeong Kyeong-doo, current Minister of MND and Air Force Chief of Staff then officialized the creation of Southern Rescue and Search unit and stated that he was considering to install the unit in some places including the planned area for the 2nd Jeju airport.
6. At the time, the headquarter of South Korean air force mentioned the 2nd Jeju airport as a prime candidate area for the unit.
“ In relation to the 2nd Jeju airport, we have not had any prior communion (either with MOLIT or Jeju Island). We have had no official talk on it. However, we now think that we should do.” (Yi Sung-yong, a deputy chief of staff for coordination and management, headquarter of air force base, an interview on March 9, 2017)
Later when KBS officially inquired to the headquarter of air force whether it has ever talked with MOLIT or Jeju island, it answered there was never.
7. However, the Jeju airport is already saturated and the runway length of small Alddreu air field is too short for a transport plane to land. Therefore it was pointed out that the air force does have no choice other than preferring to the 2nd Jeju airport.
“As I know, 1.5 km length [of a runway] is necessary for a transport plane to land. The MND is answering in such a way, too. However, The Alddreu air field is short of 500 Meter.” (Wi Seong-gon, currently Seogwipo-based National Assembly man, March 16th, 2017/ recorded)
8. Additionally, Na Woong-jin, director of airport policy of MOLIT then in 2015 said that “ 3.3 million ㎡ is possible for an airport. However, we planned more areas in consideration of possibility of its expansion in the future.”
9. Currently, the MOLIT defined the spare parts of the 2nd Jeju airport as 1.65 million ㎡. And it happens to be similar to the size of Southern Rescue and Search unit expected by air force.
10. Related to it, Won Hee-ryong, Island governor, stated in a Q & A session two years ago that he would discuss with a new President (Moon Jae-in) and set the 2nd Jeju airport to be a pure civilian airport, it looks like he has not talked with the President yet, even nearly two years later.
10. As a result, it will be very likely that the controversy whether the 2nd Jeju airport is connected to an air force base would be continued unless the Government expresses its official position or the MND and air force withdraw from the related plans.
(Narrated by Heo Ji-Young, KBS news)
# The history of MND drive for the ‘Jeju Air Force Base (Southern Search and Rescue Unit)(Jeju Sori, March 2, 2017)
1987 “Jeju air force base’ is reflected in the ‘build-up plan for the mid and long term military strength’
1987 ‘The council for the military restriction zone’ defines the area of Songak Mountain as a military restriction zone
1992 The MND (Ministry of National Defense) and Ministry of Construction and Transportation (Currently Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, MOLIT) agrees to the construction of a new civilian-military combined Jeju airport
1997 The plan for an air force base (flying squadron class) is reflected in the mid-term plan of national defense (1999-2003)
2004 A discussion on the civilian-military joint use on the Jeongseok air field owned by the Korean Airline which disagreed with the idea.
2006 Name of the project was altered from the Jeju air force base to the Southern Rescue and Search unit
2009 A Memorandom of Understanding in relation to the construction of the Jeju navy base was concluded between the Ministry of National Defense and Jeju Island (*and the Ministry of Land and Ocean, then). In the memorandum, included were the matter of *use on the Alddreu air field( an old Japanese naval air field during the Japanese imperialism)
The Article 5 of MOU (about the use of Alddreu air field etc.) reads:
(1) For the growth of the region of Jeju self-governing Island,the Ministry of National Defense (MOD) should let the Jeju Self-Governing Island use so called the Alddreu air field which is under the jurisdiction of the MOD and located in the town of Daejeong, City of Seogwipo, through the discussion with the Jeju Self-Governing Island following the legal procedures.
(2) The Minister of MOD confirms that it does not have the plan to deploy fighter planes in the Southern Rescue Search unit of air force.
The article 5 of MOU, in relation to the Jeju navy base means the air force is seeking another area other than the old Alddreu air field for its base in Jeju. Six years later from the MOU, Seongsan, east of the Jeju would be announced as the area for the 2nd Jeju airport.
2015. The area of Onpyeong-ri, Seongsan -eup, east of Jeju Island was announced as the area for the 2nd Jeju airport (aimed to be completed as early as 2023)
2017, List of Jeju Southern Rescue and Search unit in the National Defense mid-term plan (2018-2022) (planned to be set in 2021)
US MCM_14, Chief, enters the jeju navy base on Sept. 26, 2017 Photo by Park Inchun
According to Park Inchun, it was 9:28:24 am in the morning of Sept. 26 that a USS mine countermeasure ship called ‘USS Chief, MCM-14’ entered the port of Jeju navy base. We haven’t heard the purpose of its visit. But its homeport is Sasebo, Japan. It belongs to the 7th fleet of the US Pacific Command.
Trump does not care to make the Korean peninsula as a battlefield (in the name of alliance!) regardless of Korean citizens’ lives. Jeju is not an exception. In any outbreak of war, Jeju would be one of the launching sites. It can be attacked first. We do picketing for the reason to save innocent young lives who may be first sacrificed in the war, also.
Chief, US Mine Countermeasure ship, Get out of Jeju. Photo by Mangi
…………………………………..
_The Strengthening of invasive launching bases: Iwakuni-Sasebo-Okinawa-Jeju_
According to Koh Young-Dae, SPARK, the US marine bases, Iwakuni, Japan, which has recently been massively consolidated, would be operated as an invasive launching base in linkage with the US navy base, Sasebo, in case of outbreak of Korean or other wars. It was the role of Iwakuni during the Korean war, 1950-1953. Sasebo provided ammunition during the Korean war in the past. It can provide ammunition to possible war or emergency in the Korean peninsula in the future as well. In Sasebo, US assaults ships and mine countermeasure ships are stationed. (It is also known to be one of the strategic points along with Okinawa and Jeju)
Kog Young-Dae has said the Jeju navy base is a foothold for the integrated Ballistic Missile Defense system in the Northeast Asia region. The ROK-US-Japan maritime war exercises occur in the Jeju Sea. The sea between Jeju and Sasebo (located on the same latitude with Jeju) is one spot.
[Aug. 15-31] USNS Henson (T-AGS-63), a pathfinder class oceanographic survey ship, surveyed the Jeju sea water.
[Aug. 30] USS Wasp (LHD-1), a multipurpose amphibious assault ship, leaves toward Sasebo
(*In between, THAAD deployment is completed with the deployment of additional four THAADF launchers in Soseong-ri, Seongju, main land of Korea)
[Sept. 18] The two US strategic bomber B-1B and four F-35 B made joint exercise with four F-15 stealth fighter planes of South Korea in the air over the Korean peninsula. The US military planes which flied from Okinawa and Iwakuni dropped bomb of exercise-use into the firing range in Gangwon province. The total cost of planes mobilized on the day amount around $ 1.6 billion USD
(Hankyoreh, Sept. 18)
[Sept. 21] The United States Forces of Korea visit the Jeju navy base (As of Sept. 21, New York time, there was a ROK-US-Japan summit meeting)
[Sept. 23] US B-1B Lancer and F-15 fighter planes flied to the northern tip of the Demilitarized zone and went to north crossing the Northern Limited Line (NLL) in the east side (So called The East Sea/Japan Sea) (Hankyoreh, Sept. 23)
[Sept. 26] The USS Chief, MCM-14 entered into the Jeju navy base, It belongs to the Pacific fleet of the US navy, Its homeport is Sasebo.
[October] A nuclear-propelled US aircraft carrier assault group including Ronald Reagan is planned to make joint exercise with South Korean navy over the sea water area of the Korean peninsula (Hankyoreh, Sept. 23)
Photo: Mangi(1, 2), Park Inchun (3: USS MCM 14 Chief entering into the Jeju navy base on Sept. 26)
No to the 1st US Warship after 10 Years of Struggle /The United States should not pressure THAAD deployment!/ Resisting THAAD in the United States/ Vietnam Pieta and Fr. Bix statues placed in Gangjeong/ The Navy’s damage lawsuit and the new President Moon/ A Murderous History of Korea by Bruce Cumings / Gangjeong Peace Travel Team / Making a Demilitarized Island with No Air Base / Remembering the Sewol ferry tragedy and Gwangju uprising/ Jeju march 2017 ad. etc.
Civic groups hold a press conference on Feb. 7 in front of the entrance to Jeju Naval Base to criticize the South Korean and American governments’ discussion of the deployment of the USS Zumwalt, a stealth destroyer. (by Huh Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent)
Protesters worry that Jeju will become a front-line in a military confrontation between the US and China
After it was reported that the US navy has suggested deploying the USS Zumwalt, a stealth destroyer, at the Jeju Naval Base, civic groups in Jeju held a press conference on Feb. 7 in front of the entrance to the base to criticize the South Korean and American governments’ discussion of its deployment.
On the morning of Feb. 7, the Gangjeong Village Council, the Island Residents’ Action Committee for Blocking the Jeju Military Base and Realizing an Island of Peace, and the National Action Council for the Jeju Naval Base held a press conference in front of the entrance to the Jeju Naval Base in Gangjeong Village, Seogwipo, to condemn discussion about the US navy deploying the Zumwalt.
“We have recently learned that US Pacific Commander Harry Harris proposed deploying the USS Zumwalt, a stealth guided missile destroyer, to the Jeju Naval Base. If this destroyer is deployed, it is obvious that Jeju Island would become a front-line American outpost against China,” these groups said.
“We have been concerned that the Jeju Naval Base would be used as an American front-line outpost against China, but the [South Korean] navy has strenuously denied this, stating that the [South Korean] government’s approval would be required before American naval vessels could enter or leave the base. Deploying the USS Zumwalt would begin the transformation of the whole island into a military base,” the groups said.
“If a Zumwalt-class stealth guided missile destroyer is deployed at the Jeju Naval Base in addition to deploying THAAD on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and China will be forced down the road toward inevitable military conflict. The ultimate result of deploying American combat vessels to Jeju will be further increasing military tensions in Northeast Asia,” the groups said. They urged the US to retract its comments about deploying the USS Zumwalt to Jeju and urged the South Korean government to flatly reject the proposal to deploy the ship to Jeju.
The USS Zumwalt on the Kennebec River in Maine (AP/Yonhap News)
Koh Kwon-il, vice chair of the village committee and chair of the action committee against the naval base in Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, calling for the government to waive its right to indemnity.
With indemnity, government apparently trying to send a message about what happens to people who oppose government projects
On Jan. 30, during the Lunar New Year holiday, I visited Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island. Faded and tattered yellow banners were fluttering in the fierce wind around the Jeju Naval Base, with slogans such as “No naval base in Gangjeong Village,” “Resolutely opposed to the naval base” and “Forfeit the right to indemnity.” The rough waves of the dark blue sea ceaselessly battered Gangjeong Port.
Today, the residents of Gangjeong Village feel a mixture of resignation and rage against the government. I met with Koh Kwon-il, vice chair of the village committee and chair of the action committee against the naval base. Koh and I were in the same class in high school. Koh has enjoyed drawing comics since his high school days, and he was always serious and optimistic. When he was attending graduate school in Seoul, he made a name for himself as a cartoonist, and his cartoons were syndicated in monthly magazines and sports newspapers. When he returned home to Jeju in 2008, after 26 years, he stood on the front line of the struggle. He did not stand by and watch what was happening to his home.
When I met this bronze-faced man at the site of the struggle, he no longer looked as he had in his late teens, but his personality remained mild and reasonable. Overcome with homesickness during his university years, he told me he had gone home and found healing for his body and soul by fishing and going for walks on the Gureombi Rocks.
The Gangjeong villagers’ campaign against the naval base is now in its tenth year. When the campaign began in Apr. 2007 with most villagers objecting to a unilateral decision by the minority to allow the base to be built, few thought it would last so long.
Despite the long struggle of the residents of Gangjeong Village, construction of Jeju Naval Base was completed in Feb. 2016. But the psychological and physical pain inflicted upon the residents during the construction process, as well as the damage to their property, continue today. More than 700 people were arrested by the police, and 392 cases were taken to court. They have been fined more than 400 million won (US$364,000). The naval base changed the face of the village and plunged the residents into conflict.
When construction ended on the base, President Park Geun-hye said she hoped that “this would be a significant opportunity for coexistence and harmony with the local community.” But when Samsung C&T asked to be compensated for the delay in the construction, the navy paid 27.3 billion won (US$23.64 million) and then stabbed the villagers in the back by demanding that 116 individuals and five organizations, including the village council, pay 3.45 billion won (US$2.98 million) just one month after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. In addition to this, Samsung C&T and Daelim Industrial are moving forward with a request for the navy to pay tens of billions of won in compensation.
After severely scarring the villagers during the construction of the naval base, the government, far from resolving the conflict, continues to provoke their anger. In Oct. 2016, 165 lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties submitted a resolution asking the government to forfeit its right to indemnity. “The government must never use lawsuits against the people (to whom sovereignty belongs) to push the people to the brink of the cliff of pain,” the lawmakers said.
Not only Jeju Island Governor Won Hee-ryong and the Jeju Island legislature but even the Jeju Island Lawyers’ Association advised and urged the government to forfeit its right to indemnity, but the government’s position is unshakeable. The government apparently intends this to be a warning to the public about what happens when people oppose a government project.
There is no precedent for the government demanding that its citizens pay it billions of won in restitution. During a meeting of the Gangjeong Village Council on Jan. 23, villagers angrily asked, “Is this a country?” They described the indemnity as “bloody pus” — sweat and blood squeezed out of hurting people.
“Just because it’s a government project doesn’t mean you can suppress the people‘s voices. The people have already endured so many inconveniences during their struggle to defend their community, and forcing them to pay restitution is state violence,” Koh said angrily.
The villagers are doing their best to avoid conflict. These people already experienced state violence during the Apr. 3 Incident, more than 70 years ago, and we must not dredge up that trauma. Unless we embrace the residents of Gangjeong Village, “coexistence” and “harmony” will be no more than empty words. The presidential candidates need to clean the bloody pus off the people of Gangjeong Village.
By Huh Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent
Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
Step Down Park Geun Hye! Mass Anti-Government Rallies; GSOMIA etc. are INVALID; Navy brings children to experience war culture; International Tribunal on Forced Eviction’s recommendation on Jeju navy base; Choi Soon-sil gate with Lockheed Martin and Samsung; Why I object to my fourth year of military reserves training; Trial updates; Solidarity message for the Standing Rock protesters etc.
Sunken Sewol ferry overloaded with iron bars for Jeju naval base; Navy Week on Jeju Island; Gwangju and Jeju: A Journalist’s Account; Zumwalt 12 Arrested at Shipyard; Memory Activism Peace School; Visit to Aland Island; The endangered Joongdeok Samgeori; Environment around Jeju naval base deteriorates; UN recommends South Korea to protect freedom of assembly and association; Trial update etc.
Photo by Oum Mun-hee/ In solidarity with the people, in Maine, against the Christening of Zumwalt Destroyer on June 18, 2016. To be c-incident, a big international missionary group of 40-50 people visited the village during the human chain around noon. We briefly told them what the photo is for and they were willing to join us ! On the day, there were two other same world missionary groups visiting the village in such a big size and different time. Adding to June 17 banner, we also had a sign in English and Korean which is from the Maine activists’ statement on civil disobedience. It reads: “NO ZUMWALT: We stand in solidarity with people around the world who are protesting at bases where the US will port these warships. Not only would these destroyers kill innocent people but their sonar also severely impacts ocean life [..].”
Hello from Gangjeong village, Jeju Island, South Korea. Despite our struggle against base construction for nearly nine years, there was a ceremony for the completion of the Jeju navy base construction this February. However, despite the navy base, we will do our best to maintain village community. And we cannot get along with the navy as long as it continues to foster conflicts.
We heard that there is a ceremony for the christening of a recently built Zumwalt destroyer in the Bath Iron Works (BIW), Maine, United States on June 18 and that this destroyer is the most threatening naval ship in history, with a production cost of more than 4 billion USD per ship. According to the Korean media, the U.S. Secretary of Defense said that all three Zumwalt-class destroyers, once being made, would be deployed in the East Asia Sea by the end of this year. It is very worrisome as it would intensify tension in Northeast Asia and threaten peace. We heard that you would carry out protest to the christening ceremony on the Zumwalt destroyer and some of you plan non-violent civil disobedience on June 18.
Many of you have visited Gangjeong and have made solidarity with us with deep concern for the struggle in opposition to the Jeju navy base project. Thanks to you, we came to know that our fight is not isolated but connected to all the peace movements in the world. Therefore we send deep gratitude, friendship, and solidarity to you all who are to magnificently expressing faith on peace in protest to the christening of the Zumwalt destroyer. We also resolve that we will endeavor more fully to keep our struggle.
Despite the navy and government manipulation 9 years ago, more than 94% among more than 70% of the electorate of the village strongly opposed the Jeju naval base construction. However, the government ignored villagers’ opinion and enforced base construction destroying democracy, environment and human rights. Further, the government and navy filed a wrongful lawsuit demanding around 3 million USD against the people of Gangjeong and are preparing to evict our community protest site, at the entrance to Gureombi Rock, which is now covered by concrete. The Jeju navy base was built on the destruction of democracy and threatens the peace of northeast Asia. That is why we continuously oppose to it and will do so in the future, too.
The Gangjeong sea with UNESCO-designation and the world’s largest soft coral habitat, a place where the 100 remaining Jeju Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins often came, has changed into a site infested with aegis destroyers and submarines. It is currently only used by military vessels of the South Korean navy. However given that Lisa Franchetti, the ex-commander of US naval forces of South Korea mentioned last August that the US wants to ‘send its ships’ to the ports of South Korea, including the Jeju navy base, it is very worrisome to imagine that the Zumwalt destroyer, the so called most threatening military vessel, might enter the Jeju naval port.
We think peace can be made through peace not through war. Even though the base was completed and oppression on the opponents to the Jeju navy base has been heavy, we will not stop our efforts to oppose militarism and make Gangjeong a ground for life and peace, on behalf of future generations and the living creatures in the sea.
We thank for your noble dedication and solidarity.
In peace,
The Anti-navy base committee of Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, Korea
Photo by Pang Eunmi on June 17/ Gangjeong people in solidarity with the peace activists in Maine, USA for the June 18 protest against christening of the Zumwalt destroyer, BIW
Photo by Pang Eunmi on June 17/ same as above. In front of the villagers’s tent ‘village hall’ in protest to the navy lawsuit of 3 million USD against Gangjeong people
In this April/ May 2017 Edition:
