Opposition's proposal to relocate Gimpo Airport in Seoul a key election issue

SEOUL - A controversial proposal to relocate an airport in Seoul has emerged as a hot-button issue in municipal elections and by-elections to be held in South Korea on Wednesday (June 1).

Opposition candidates Lee Jae-myung and Song Young-gil caused a stir after pledging last week to close Gimpo Airport - the only airport in Seoul and the main gateway to southern island Jeju. They said this would finally allow the areas around Gimpo Airport to be developed.

Their plan has drawn flak from the ruling People Power Party (PPP). Mr Song's rival in the Seoul mayorship race Oh Se-hoon has called it an attempt to win votes and said it will inconvenience Seoulites and negatively impact Jeju tourism.

The municipal elections for more than 4,000 seats, including governorship of nine provinces and mayorship of eight major cities, are viewed as one that will boost or weaken the mandate of newly inaugurated President Yoon Suk-yeol.

By-elections for seven parliamentary seats will also be held.

Polls will open at 6am local time. More than 44.3 million people are eligible to vote, but more than nine million of them have already cast their ballots during two days of early voting last week.

Mr Yoon may have won the presidential election in March, but he might face challenges in passing Bills as Parliament is controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds 168 out of 300 seats.

Recent polls showed the conservative-leaning PPP holding a lead in major races, such as mayorship for Seoul and Busan. Both positions are held by the party. The race for Gyeonggi province governor, however, is neck and neck.

The PPP has said it hopes to win at least half of the 17 main seats for mayors and governors, and at least half of the parliamentary seats.

A survey by pollster Realmeter last week showed that the PPP's approval rating reached 50.1 per cent - the highest in two years and far above the DP's 38.6 per cent.

Observers said the recent successful summit between Mr Yoon and United States President Joe Biden helped to boost public support for the PPP, while the liberal DP's rating fell due to internal conflicts.

Mr Lee, a former Gyeonggi governor who was Mr Yoon's main rival in the presidential election, and Mr Song both belong to the DP.

After losing the presidential race by a mere 0.7 per cent margin, Mr Lee is now seeking to enter Parliament by representing Incheon's Gyeyang-B district in by-elections.

Last Friday, he teamed up with Mr Song to suddenly reveal the plan to move Gimpo Airport's operations to the main Incheon International Airport, so that the area can be developed for housing and other uses.

Residents around Gimpo Airport have long complained about the noise of planes as well as severe traffic congestion during travel peaks.

The area around the airport, which spans western Seoul and Incheon's Gyeyang district, is also considered less developed compared with the rest of Seoul, due to construction restrictions to accommodate planes flying in and out of the airport.

Gimpo Airport is South Korea's third-busiest airport, after Incheon International Airport and Jeju Airport.

About 70 per cent of its domestic flights are bound for Jeju. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the airport was also popular for travelling to Japan and China.

PPP chairman Lee Jun-seok has accused Mr Lee of "trying to ruin" tourism to Jeju and asked him to withdraw his pledge.

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, a PPP politician who is seeking re-election, said Busan will also suffer as the city's tourism and businesses rely heavily on air connectivity from Gimpo Airport.

"The pledge just shows how shortsighted the DP is," said Mr Park, noting that 5.4 million people flew from Gimpo Airport to Busan last year.

Mr Lee, however, was undeterred. On Monday (May 30), he insisted there is almost 10 million sq m of land that cannot be developed due to airport restrictions.

"To fully develop Gyeyang, Incheon and south-western Seoul, I believe Gimpo airport's operations must be moved to Incheon," he said.

Not all DP members support the shift though. The party's Jeju governor candidate Oh Young-hun, for one, has said the proposal must undergo proper procedures for it to be considered an official DP goal.

DP's co-chairman Yoon Ho-jung, however, defended the plan, saying: "We allowed our party's candidates the freedom to come up with pledges they deem necessary for the constituencies they are running for."