“You cannot buy us with money!” Villagers dissipated the Prime Minister Office presentation again.

Posted by Save Jeju Now | Friday, 26 October 2012 | English, Uncategorized

Photo and video: Jeju Sori, Oct. 25, 2012/ Lim Suk-Kyu, staff of the Prime Minister Office (left) and navy (behind) are embarrassed by people’s protest. See more photos in the below reference links and here(Photos by Cho Sung-Bong)

On Oct. 25, 2012, while many peacekeepers watching the naval base project gates from the construction trucks from the early morning, about 40 people including many village elders led by Mr. Go Gwon-Il, Chairman of the Villagers’ Committee to Stop the Naval Base and Mr. Cho Kyung-Chul, Vice-mayor of the village, dissipated the presentation by the Government (supervised under the Prime Minister Office) on the local development plan in relation to the naval base project. The people’s anger and protest filled the presentation hall where the navy has barely mobilized small sum of pro-base villagers. The Prime Minister Office, not being able to even start the event, announced the end of event in 15 minutes.

Photo by Cho Sung-Bong, See more of his photos on the day, here

The presentation collectively joined by 8 ministries and navy was to be unilaterally held in the 2^nd Seogwipo City Hall at 2pm. The 8 ministries beside the Prime Minister Office are: Ministry of Administration and Security, Ministry of the National Defense (navy headquarter, joined by Jung In-Yang, Chief of the Jeju naval base project committee), Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs, and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The presentation was to introduce on the overall plan on the Civilian-Military Complex for Tour Beauty and each ministry’s 2013 project plan.

However, Chairman Go strongly protested to the Prime Minister Office, saying, “Currently the enforcement of the presentation is to totally ignore the Gangjeong villagers. The government has a mean intention to cover the matters of the naval base project with MONEY.”

He also protested saying, “Does it make sense that the government having a presentation on the development plan WITHOUT the verification on the problems of the Jeju naval base project, exposed in the recent National Assembly inspection? If there should be any presentation, it should be the reasonable talk with the villagers who are the direct victims of the project.”

On Oct. 23, Kang Gi-Jung and Jang Hana (Democratic United party), two National Assembly members secondly made public of the technical verification committee meeting minutes on cruise supervised under the Prime Minister Office and exposed the two important things on it.

Photo: Jeju Sori, Oct. 23, 2012/ The meeting minutes of the technical verification committee on cruise, doctored by the Government was exposed.

The Government explanation that it has been neural was a total lie as it was exposed that the chief of the technical committee, Jeon Joon-Sou, belongs to the think thank (국가미래연구원, Institute of National Future) of Park Geun-Hye, the Presidential runner of the ruling and conservative Saenuri Party, to the violation of the principal of the neutrality of the committee. Park is the daughter of the deceased ex-President Park Jung-Hee, military dictatorship during 60s~70s. Her repeated remarks that she wants to build the Jeju Island based on the model of Hawaii military base have been highly criticized by the domestic people and Hawaii peace activists. See here.) The 24 hour naval base construction and police watch that started on the very day of Oct. 25 very reminds Park Jung-Hee whose infamous 24 hour police watch against people during his resign has been seldom revived until recently.

In fact, it reads in the meeting minutes that Jeon Joon-Sou has said, “the most fearful thing is the construction to be stopped” (*so the data should be politically doctored) and “The construction should be started as the schedule.” It is also known that he is a political figure nominated as a promotion member for the committee of the local development of the Saenuri Party on Sept. 29, 2012.

2. It was also confirmed that the government has unilaterally and unreasonably pushed the project, forcing and ignoring the opinions by the technical committee members, some of whom even said that the entry of cruise entry/exit of port is IMPOSSIBLE with the current flawed base design. ( *which clarified the so called complex port is in fact, a military-only port)

The people have already dissipated all the unilateral presentations by the government (Prime Minister Office) & navy’s on the subject on Oct. 28, 2011, and cruise terminal on Dec. 6, 2011 and Island government & navy’s on the military housing project on May 29 and June 15, 2012 (* The latter was scandal at the time since the navy attempted to use a ‘recorder’ to enforce presentation when its plan was disturbed by the villagers’ protest. The navy announced later that it would enforce the housing project)

It is told that the personnel of the Prime Minister Office said:

‘In the National policy Control meeting supervised by the Prime Minister office on Feb. 29, 2012 (On the day, the Lee Myung-Bak government has issued its will to enforce the Jeju naval base project, along with the local development plan), 1 trillion and 77 billion won budget of 37 projects (supported by the national expenditure of 579 billion won for 10 years) of local development plan in relation to the Jeju civilian-military complex port for tour beauty has been decided centered on the Jeju Island government-demanding projects. It would be earnestly promoted from 2013.”

It also said, “Preferentially, 7.5 billion won ( 5 billion won of national expenditure, 2.5 billion won of local cost) is input to drive 5 projects including the establishment of the Gangjeong village community center this year. For 2013, 42.3 billion of national expenditure is complied for budget and submitted to the National Assembly as the Jeju Island government has demanded 52.9 billion won for 12 projects.”

With the dissipation of the presentation, Lim Joon-Kyu, the Jeju Policy director of the Prime Minister office said there would be no planned additional presentation but the naval base construction is to be enforced as planned.

Later, the Prime Minister office personnel made a talk meeting with the Jeju island government personnel. The Gangjeong villagers and peace keepers, watching the hall by 3pm, joined the struggle in front of construction gates, returning back to the village around 3:30pm.

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Reference

http://www.headlinejeju.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=163281

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