Recently, as bird strikes have been cited as one of the causes of the Jeju Air passenger aircraft accident at Muan International Airport, Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon noted that "it is necessary to thoroughly verify the possibility of bird strikes during the environmental impact assessment process."
During a press briefing on the 9th, Governor Oh expressed concerns about the possibility of bird strikes due to the presence of migratory bird habitats around the planned site of the second airport in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo City, saying, "The diagnosis and measures related to the possibility of bird strikes should be reflected in the contents of the environmental impact assessment service."
Governor Oh explained, "The possibility of bird strikes seems to exist at any airport," adding, "While some may have significant concerns, others may not, this issue has already been established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to conduct an environmental impact assessment service based on the basic plan announcement."
Governor Oh stated, "First, the basic work, which captures seasonal changes, will take place over the next year, and I anticipate that discussions with Jeju will commence around next year," mentioning that key issues, including suspicions raised by civic groups, can also be verified in the environmental impact assessment.
There are four migratory bird habitats around the planned site of the second airport in Jeju, raising concerns about the risk of bird strikes with aircraft.
Earlier, during the review of the strategic environmental impact assessment in 2019, the Ministry of Environment noted that the assessment of the risk of bird strikes was insufficient and requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to make improvements. Even after the discussions concluded, conditions were set for pre-establishing measures to prevent bird strikes and management plans.