On the 11th, the court handed down a first-instance ruling putting the brakes on North Jeolla Province's push for the Saemangeum new airport. North Jeolla Province said it would appeal. The environmental group that filed the suit welcomed the decision, saying it "protected the Sura tidal flats."
The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 7 (Senior Presiding Judge Lee Ju-young) on the 11th ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a suit filed by 1,297 citizens affiliated with Action for Nullifying the Saemangeum New Airport (Action) seeking to cancel the master plan for the Saemangeum International Airport development project against the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
◇Exempted from preliminary feasibility on the pledge to open before the 2023 Saemangeum Jamboree
The Saemangeum new airport is a project to build a runway, apron, passenger terminal, and cargo terminal on a 3.4 million-square-meter site created by reclaiming the Sura tidal flats in the Saemangeum area of North Jeolla Province. In Jan. 2019, it was included on the government's list of projects exempt from the preliminary feasibility study, confirming the construction of a new airport. North Jeolla Province argued that a new airport was necessary to successfully host the Jamboree, and the government accepted this.
However, the project was delayed as work on the basic plan did not begin until Jul. 2020. North Jeolla Province aims to break ground in Nov., complete construction in 2028, and open in 2029, but the first-instance ruling is set to disrupt the project.
Earlier, in Jun. 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport finalized and announced the master plan for Saemangeum International Airport. Environmental groups and citizens filed an administrative suit in Sep. of the same year to cancel it. A first-instance ruling came three years later.
The bench sided with the plaintiffs. Citing the Ministry's failure, at the airport feasibility stage, to compare and review the risk of bird strikes when selecting the site, and its intentional downplaying of the risk level, the court held, "The master plan in this case deviated from discretionary planning authority, is unlawful, and must be canceled."
◇Environmental group: "Bird-strike risk at Saemangeum new airport up to 610 times that of Muan Airport"
Environmental groups have opposed the Saemangeum new airport. According to the strategic environmental impact assessment for the Saemangeum new airport prepared by the Ministry, the risk of bird strikes is at least 134 times and up to 610 times higher than at Muan Airport, where a disaster occurred in Dec. last year. In Oct. 2021, an F-16 fighter jet bound for Gunsan Airport, 1.35 kilometers from the planned Saemangeum airport site, collided with a flock of great cormorants over the Sura tidal flats.
On this point, the bench found, "The Ministry determined that the likelihood of accidents at Muan International Airport, which has a similar environment, is low, but that airport has experienced a passenger plane bird-strike accident."
The bench also said, "The (new airport) site has a rich ecosystem, with abundant populations of various species, including many endangered animals," adding, "It is recognized through investigations by various experts that building the new airport could harm the ecosystem, and the Ministry does not completely deny this."
According to environmental groups, the Sura tidal flats, the planned site of the Saemangeum new airport, are home to one black-faced spoonbill and one stork, both Class 1 endangered species. More than 100,000 birds inhabit the area, and it is said to be a key stopover on the migration route of shorebirds traveling from breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere to wintering grounds in the Southern Hemisphere.
However, the bench recognized standing to sue only for three of the 1,297 plaintiffs, saying only those three live in areas covered by legally defined noise mitigation measures.
◇North Jeolla Province: "Saemangeum airport greatly affects attracting corporations… we will stress this on appeal"
Action and environmental groups that filed the administrative suit held a press conference in front of the Seoul Administrative Court, welcoming the ruling by saying, "This ruling will be a very important turning point that will halt the government's 'ecocide' projects that accelerate climate and ecological collapse." They added, "The Ministry should not appeal."
Regarding the first-instance ruling, North Jeolla Province said the Ministry, the defendant in the case, would appeal. After the ruling, North Jeolla Province Construction and Transportation Director General Kim Hyeong-u said at a briefing, "We have worked hard to break ground on the airport quickly, so today's first-instance result is regrettable."
He continued, "Because the first-instance ruling is not final, we have been advised by attorneys that the master plan for the airport remains in effect," adding, "We will continue with the procedures for the environmental impact assessment implementation plan."
On whether construction could start in Nov., Kim, the Director General, said, "Procedurally, groundbreaking appears possible, but I expect the environmental groups will file for an injunction to bar the start," adding, "It is likely the ruling will affect the start (of construction)."
Director General Kim said, "(The airport) will have a large impact not only on Saemangeum's development but also on attracting corporations, so we will stress in the second trial that Saemangeum Airport is essential."