Choo Mi-ae, who said there was no money: “It makes no sense for Gyeonggi Province to have no airport” ... resumes study to bring an airport to the province

[The Financial News] Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae said that she would continue to push for Gyeonggi International Airport, saying, “It makes no sense for Gyeonggi Province to have no airport.”
According to Yonhap News and other outlets on the 19th, Governor Choo gave this response that day to a related question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yeom Taeyeong during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee’s audit of Gyeonggi Province, held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government.
Yeom pointed out that although Gyeonggi Province is a hub of the semiconductor industry, Incheon International Airport handles 98% of semiconductor exports and could reach capacity in 2033. He said, “It would be too late to start building an airport—a national infrastructure project that takes at least 10 years—only after it becomes necessary,” adding, “Gyeonggi Province, a local government specializing in semiconductors, must not miss the right time to prepare an international logistics airport for advanced industries.”
Governor Choo emphasized, “We are a province that produces the most semiconductors and has sufficient demand for advanced air cargo.”
She continued, “Our residents also use airports, but the travel time to one is far too long—1 hour and 22 minutes. It is 40 minutes from Seoul and 38 minutes from Incheon,” adding, “We are preparing to inform residents of this and build broader consensus.”
Earlier, Gyeonggi Province selected three preliminary candidate sites for Gyeonggi International Airport: reclaimed land at Hwaseong Lake in Hwaseong City, Seotan-myeon in Pyeongtaek-si, and Moga-myeon in Icheon City. In August last year, it commissioned a study titled “Analysis of Candidate Sites and Formulation of a Development Strategy for Surrounding Areas.” However, controversy over fairness arose after companies headed by two former advisers involved in the airport project won the study contract, and Gyeonggi Province halted the study after the interim report was completed.
Governor Choo said, “After taking office, I found out that the study for Gyeonggi International Airport had been suspended. There seems to have been a misunderstanding that there was a potential conflict of interest, but the investigation found no such issue. The results inspired confidence, so I decided to resume the study.”
The Gyeonggi Province Audit Committee determined in an internal audit that there had been no problem.
A Gyeonggi Province Audit Committee official explained, “The former advisers in question had already been dismissed from their committee positions at the time, and they had bid using publicly available information rather than internal information. Consultations with lawyers, among others, concluded that this was not unlawful.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter