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Tag: Civilian-Military Dual-Use Port

  • Jeju Region Professors’ Open Inquiry to the Two Presidential Candidates

    Photo: Hankyoreh, Nov. 28, 2012/ ‘Banners for candidates for the Dec. 19 president election in Seoul’s Eunpyeong district. Nov. 27 was the official start of campaigning. (Ryu Woo-jong, staff photographer)’

     

    The Presidential election in South Korea is on Dec. 19, 2012. Only 20 days are left from now on. On Nov. 27, a day before the ruling Saenuri Party’s violent unilateral railroading of budget on the 2013 Jeju naval base project (about 201 billion won) in the National Defense committee of the National Assembly on Nov. 28 (The budget bill is now passed to the Budget and Balance Committee of the Assembly for final talk on it), the Jeju Region Professors’ Association to Stop Construction and to Discuss Again on the Jeju naval Base’  made public its open inquiry to the two big Presidential Candidates: Park Geun-Hye (bio) in the ruling Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-In in the Democratic United Party, the main opposition party (bio). It is clear that the two big candidates have a common position on the Jeju naval base that it should be dual form of the civilian and military, even though their measures on the currently, clearly illegal, law-evasive construction (destruction) may be different. The professors, pointing out the whole process of the Jeju naval base project has been a deception, chase the two Candidates to make their clear positions regarding current big exposures. You can see the original Korean statement, here.

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    Open inquiry to two Presidential candidates of Park Geun-Hye and Moon Jae-In, on the Jeju naval base project that betrays citizens

     

    From today, [Nov. 27, 2012], official election campaign for 22 days [until Dec. 19] to elect the 18th [ROK] President starts. We expect that Park Geun-Hye, candidate of the Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-In, candidate of the Democratic United Party would stage fierce two-power confrontation this period. The Jeju Region Professors’ Association to Stop Construction and to Discuss Again on the Jeju naval Base’ (‘JRP,’ afterward) truly hope that the two candidates enter for fair and clean contest, centered around policy matters.

    Even though the whole country enjoys a festival to elect the President, there happen endless daily conflicts around the enforcement of construction in the Gangjeong village, Jeju. Various law-evasive enforcements of construction and violation on human rights are being staged there. From Jan. 2010 to Oct. 2012, 650 people have been taken away and arrested. Among them 22 people were imprisoned and 480 people were indicted. Recently, 24 hour construction was enforced for the navy to secure the 2013 budget on the naval base project therefore the clash between the police and Gangjeong villagers has become intensified, which resembles a battle field. While the country is holding a festival, an atmosphere of a morning house fills the Gangjeong village, Jeju.

    We, the JPR is to openly inquire on the positions of two candidates, Park Geun-Hye and Moon Jae-in on the Jeju naval base project that is being enforced deceiving the South Korean citizens.

    The Government has driven construction quibbling that the Jeju naval base project is to build a Civilian-Military Complex for Tour Beauty for 150,000 ton cruise to freely enter and exit. The Government basis of the justification for the construction drive was the ‘Result and Measure plan on the Technical Verification on the entry/exit of cruise (‘report,’ afterward),’ reported by the ‘Technical Verification Committee on the Cruise Entry/Exit of Port in the  Civilian-Military Complex for Tour Beauty (‘Technical Verification Committee,’ afterward). However, it is unfortunately turning out that the report is of falsehood and betrayal.

    To recollect, a question was raised whether the Jeju naval base project is not the Civilian-Military Complex for Tour Beauty but in fact, of building a [pure] naval base or not, in September, 2011 when Kang Chang-Il, a [Jeju-based] National Assembly member and a member of the Democratic United Party, exposed the fact on the conclusion of so called dual MOU (see the below reference). Thereupon, the ROK National Assembly recommended to the Government to form a verification technical committee and to objectively and fairly disclose truth. Following its recommendation, the Office of Prime Minister has formed the ‘Technical Verification Committee on the Cruise Entry/Exit of Port in the Civilian-Military Complex for Tour Beauty (‘Technical Verification Committee,’ afterward). Since then, the Office of Prime Minister has written ‘Result and Measure plan on the Technical Verification on the entry/exit of cruise (‘report,’ afterward),’ in which the content was that cruise entry and exit of port is possible, based on the activities by the technical and verification committee meeting. It was Feb. 29, 2012 that the National Policy Control meeting supervised by Kim Hwang-Sik, Prime Minister, decided to drive the Jeju naval base construction based on the report without setback. Since then construction (destruction) has been enforced in earnest (* including the blast of Gureombi Rock for two months, from March 7)

    Reference: In Sept. 2011, It has been disclosed by Kang Chang-Il in the ROK National Assembly that while the MOU owned by the Jeju Island government was titled as the ‘Memorandum of Understanding Related to the Construction of the Civilian-Military Complex Tour Beauty Harbor (Jeju Naval Base),’ the MOU owned by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) was titles as the ‘Jeju Naval Base.’ For the translation of the MOU on April 27, 2009, see here. For the news article on dual MOU, click here. See another reference article on Feb. 20, 2012, here.

    However as Jang Hana, National Assembly woman made public the meeting minutes of the technical verification Committee, a question was raised that the report had been framed. The suspicion raised by Jang Hana, National Assembly woman, turned out to be factual by the testimony by Prof. Kim Gil-Sou(Korea Maritime University) who has joined the technical verification committee meeting, in the inspection by the Administrative and Self-Governing committee of the Island Council on Nov. 19. According to his testimony, the report by the technical verification committee meeting was written in the condition of induced meeting result for the Government to avoid the change of base design and construction stop.

    Eventually, the Government enforced law-evasive construction betraying citizens as if the Jeju naval base is a Civilian-Military Complex Port for Tour Beauty, based on false basis for the enforcement of construction by now, while committing shameless acts of barbarism violating the human rights of Gangjeong villagers and peace activists who make effort to stop it.

    We truly ask to two candidates: Do you really think it is a just project that the Government drives committing the law-evasive and human rights violation and betraying citizens even though it is a national policy project related to national security?

    Candidate, Park Geun-Hye, has said related to the issue of the Jeju naval base that she would “certainly raise the Jeju as a Cruise tourism herb by which two interests of security and Jeju development can be both captured. And Moon Jae-In, Presidential candidate of the Democratic United Party said that “the form should be that of co-existence of civilian port for possible cruise entry of port and military port purposeful of port of call, as the National Assembly decided.” And he would “stop construction and re-examine the project content according to democratic procedures.” Should the Jeju naval base construction be enforced even though situations and truths have been disclosed? Does candidate Park Geun-Hye think the current construction should be a tour herb that covers security and Jeju development? Does candidate Moo Jae-In think it would be a beautiful port where civilian and military port purposed for port of call can co-exist?

    We, the ‘JRP” has claimed that the Jeju naval base construction should be stopped and the matter on the continuous process of the construction should be decided through discussions again. Given the disclosed facts that the construction has been processed based on false basis, our claims have become more firm. We hope that the two candidates state your true opinions regarding our position. We also ask you to disclose your positions on the measures on the Government that deceives its citizens and violates their human rights.

     

    Nov. 27, 2012

     

    The Jeju Region Professors’ Association to Stop Construction and to discuss again on the Jeju Naval Base

     

    Photo by Jeju Sori, Aug. 10. 2011/ The Jeju Region Professors’ Association to Stop Construction and to discuss again on the Jeju Naval Base(JRP)
    Presidential election promotion posters in the village, Nov. 2, 2012

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    Regarding Kyle Kajihiro’s letter(April 25, 2012) to Koreans, a critique of Park Geun-Hye’s remark on Jeju both as tourism and military base, based on the model of Hawai’i, see here.

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    Reference

    http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=165874

    “해군기지 문제 어떻게 생각하나” 대선후보에 공개질의

    제주교수협, 박근혜-문재인후보에 질의서 전달

    2012.11.27  15:36:17

  • Evidence Shows Government Ordered Data Doctored on Jeju Naval Base

    Image: Hankyoreh

    Base opponents now have concrete and irrefutable evidence to back up what they have suspected and declared for a long time. Assembly Woman Chang Ha-na has found and disclosed the full record of the meetings between the Prime Minister’s office and the Technical Committee, revealing publicly the complete lie of the so-called “civilian military dual use port”, as well as the general deception, and poor and hurried planning behind the Jeju Naval Base Project.

    The following article appeared on the Hankyoreh website on Oct. 10 and was the headline article on the front page of the Korean print edition on Oct. 11. Click to see original article.

    Evidence Shows Government Ordered Data Doctored on Jeju Naval Base; Committee recommended simulation tests, but construction was rushed ahead

    By Heo Ho-joon, Hankyoreh Jeju correspondent

    Evidence suggests that the government ordered data to be doctored to allow for the construction of a controversial naval base on Jeju Island without conducting simulation safety tests for cruise ships entering and exiting the base.

    Accounts from members of the technical committee examining the base, ostensibly a joint civilian-military “tourism harbor,” suggest it was designed as a military port, with the simulations planned only to give the appearance that it would also be accessible to 150,000-ton cruise ships.

    Democratic United Party Rep. Chang Ha-na, who sits on the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, disclosed full records on Oct. 10 from four meetings of a technical committee under the Office of the Prime Minister that convened in January and February to examine the port’s suitability cruise ship entry and departure. The six-member committee had six members recommended by the ruling New Frontier Party, the opposition, the administration, and the province of Jeju.

    At the fourth meeting on Feb. 14, one committee member hinted at government doctoring of the data for a simulation on the port’s safety for 150,000-ton cruise ships.

    “The government’s telling us to come up with data that would allow construction to begin right away without a simulation,” read the records of the technical committee’s meetings.

    Also, at the first meeting on Jan. 26, members of the committee made statements to suggest that the port was originally designed as a naval base, with no design changes to make it suitable for use as a civilian harbor.

    Statements made at the second meeting on Jan. 30 indicate that the design changes in question were not made, showing the government’s pledge to have been false.

    One committee member said, “I have no idea why [President Lee Myung-bak] gave that wild figure of 150,000 tons.”

    “You would need to make the boats smaller,” a second responded. “It doesn’t work for that region. The problem is that they had to go claim it could accommodate two 150,000-ton boats and design it around that.”

    A third said, “So the government was building a naval base and it went ahead and made the pledge [for a civil-military harbor capable of accommodating two 150,000-ton cruise ships] without examining the design at all. If they’d looked closely enough, then maybe this 150,000-ton stuff would never have been said.”

    A fourth said, “If you’re building a cruise dock, the first thing you need is harbor facilities. . . . They’ve got boats that size [150,000 tons] coming in here, and nothing’s changed with the surface. . . . And the reason is there’s an underlying assumption nothing’s going to be changed.”
    The committee was chaired by Sogang University professor Jeon Joon-soo and included Korea Maritime University professors Park Jin-soo, Kim Se-won, and Kim Gil-soo, Cheju (Jeju) National University professor Lee Byung-gul, and DY Engineering executive director Yu Byeong-hwa. The secretary was Im Seok-gyu, Jeju policy officer for the Office of the Prime Minister.

    After four meetings, the committee concluded with the recommendation that a vessel simulation was needed to take into account the repositioning of harbor structures and placement of tugboats without major changes to the existing harbor design, and was then disbanded.

    Since the committee’s fruitless discussions and non-binding conclusion, the government and Navy have pushed ahead with the construction, conducting no simulations and making no design changes to date. The project is currently 22% complete, according to the Navy.

    Other evidence surfaced to suggest the committee members were told that the construction would continue and there would be no design changes.
    One member said, “Ever since they set this [committee up], there has been the assumption that the construction would be going ahead all the while. They’re asking us to find some kind of technical alternative that wouldn’t require any design change.”

    Another member responded, “Right now, the government’s worried that the construction is going to be delayed” by a simulation.

    The same member said, “We advised [the Office of the Prime Minister] that a simulation was needed, and they said, ‘Can’t you just put a little phrase in there or something without messing up the construction timetable?’”

    Chang declared that the meeting records bore out suspicions that the government and military planned the harbor as a military port and looked for a way around the 150,000-ton cruise ship issue after the President made his remarks.

    “They need to halt the naval base construction and reexamine [the port] from square one,” she added.

    Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

    Front Page of the Korean Print Edition of Hankyoreh.