Resistance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to prevent the’Gadeokdo Law’ violation… Reprimand

As the’Gadeok Island New Airport Special Act’ passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 26th, the construction of a new airport on Gadeok Island in Busan, which is expected to invest up to 28 trillion won (estimated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), laid the legal foundation. 28 trillion won is an amount that exceeds the budget of the Four Rivers Project (22 trillion won) that the Democratic Party of Korea strongly opposed at the time of the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Although it has crossed the threshold of the National Assembly, the final bill has traces of the resolution of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. At the time the ruling and opposition parties were initiated ▶ Exemption from preliminary feasibility study (preliminary feasibility study) ▶ Simplification of preliminary feasibility study (sata) ▶ It was a’three no law’ such as the exclusion of mandatory provisions for environmental impact assessment, but in the end, the provision that the preliminary feasibility study can be exempted (Article 7 It was concluded that Sata and environmental impact assessments were conducted according to the principle, with only Cho) remaining. An official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport almost took over the enforcement of the omnipresent law, which exempts all investigations, but the procedural legitimacy was partially secured.”

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was struggling with the bill right after the Democratic Party proposed a special law in November last year. Cost estimates were also omitted, and the bill was reviewed like a runaway locomotive. In particular, the exemption of pre-ta has already preceded it, but the simplification of sata was unprecedented even by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Although Sata is a “term not separately specified in the law” (a review opinion issued by the Ministry of Justice), it is basically a basic procedure for conducting a national project. This is a survey in which each ministry prepares a framework in advance to entrust the plan to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

In fact, on the 17th of the National Assembly’s National Land, Infrastructure and Transport Commission, the second vice-minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Son Myung-su, said, “No matter how much the law stipulates that people do not engage in sabotage, the project cannot be promoted without sabotage.”. Lee Ji-min, an expert member of the National Assembly Committee on Land, also pointed out the contradictions of the bill, saying, “The project goals and project scale are determined only when the company is preceded by sata.”

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon came out at this time, saying, “I don’t think I’m doing that even when the rivers in our neighborhood are being repaired.” After listening to the explanation from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Rep. Cho, the secretary of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said, “So, if you exempt sata, you don’t know what to make, and you build (airport)?” The opposition party lawmakers also agreed to the implementation of Sata, and the provisions for simplification of Sata were deleted due to an agreement between the opposition parties.

The traces of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport’s life and death in securing procedural legitimacy are also seen in a non-public document submitted to the members of the National Land Commission earlier this month. Gadeokdo Island is a document listing the problems related to the new airport divided into seven categories, including safety, construction, and operability.

What stands out in particular ‘Review of legal obligations of public officials’ with legal advice from external law firm (Dongheon)This is the main topic. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs also wrote, “Failure to object to the Gaduk New Airport Special Act in the context of being aware of a procedural problem may be a violation of the duty of sincerity,” and “not following the legal business promotion procedures”.

When the document was released to the media late last week, the controversy rose, and President Moon Jae-in rebuked the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Chang-heum. President Moon said to Minister Byun, who met at the’Southeastern Megacity Promotion Strategy Report Meeting’ held in Busan on the 25th, “If the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport does not have the will, smooth business progress may not be easy.”

Then, Minister Byeon explained, “It looks as if the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport was opposed to Gaduk New Airport,” he said. “The report was prepared to explain the necessity of a pre-feasibility study.” Minister Byun added, “At present, the disagreement with related organizations has been resolved, such as the implementation of the sata being reflected in the bill,” adding that “Gadeok will do its best to promote the new airport.”

However, contrary to the explanation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that “the disagreement has been resolved,” Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also tapped on the visits of the ruling and opposition judges on the 23rd to appeal the logic of securing procedural legitimacy. It was a last-minute appeal until just before the judicial committee’s decision (25th). An assistant to the judiciary commissioner who received the report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the day said, “A representative from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport came to show the documents in person, and emphasized various problems of the new airport in Gadeok Island. He said,’If we conduct a feasibility study in advance, this problem will arise.’

In the end, it is said that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has taken a life and death to avoid controversy over illegal illegality that may exist in the future. A member of the power of the people from Yulsa said, “It should be done because the government is pushing it, but if you skipped all the procedural steps, would you have been worried that you would become like the government officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism who suffered from the’blacklist’ case of the Park Geun-hye administration? I said.

After passing the bill, the ruling party emphasized the speed battle day by day and is eager to show off the performance of the special law on Gadeok Island. Representative Lee Nak-yeon said on the 27th that “We will hurry up the administrative procedure with the goal of completion within eight years,” and on the 28th, former presidential secretary chief Lim Jong-seok said on Facebook, “Now, let’s stop the exhausting political battle and make (Gadeokdo new airport) an opportunity to make a leap forward in Korea. ”Posted.

Reporter Kim Jun-young [email protected]