[Jeju Update] Island being hot on the issue of the Island Council’s re-resolution on the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village

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See also
[Jeju Resource]Why the annulment on the cancellation of the absolute preservation area has to be done?
[제주] 왜 절대 보전 지역 해제를 취소해야 하는가?
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* Image sourcs : Jeju Sori, March 14, 2011

The sign reads: Make a re-resolution on the cancellation of the passed agreement bill on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas [in the Gangjeong village]
* Image sourcs : Jeju Sori, March 14, 2011 Dobub, Buddhist monk and leader of the Life and Peace Fellowship encourages people.

* Image source: headline Jeju, March 14, 2011

The Island Special Self-Governing Provincial Council (Island Council, afterward) will have an important vote in its temporary general meeting at 2pm, March 15, today. It is on the re-resolution on the cancellation of the agreement bill on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village, which has passed by the ex-Island council in the snatched way in Dec. 2009. For more detail of the background, please see the below.

The citizens and villagers have been in protest to demand the council to make a re-resolution in front of the Island Council buildings in the morning and in the evening (see the below videos)of the March 14.


* Image source: Jeju Sori, March 14, 2011

* image sources: Jeju Sori, March 14, 2011


There will a protest in the morning of March 15, as well.

According to the Jeju media, a public poll led by the JIBS in the Jeju Island, 48% of the Island people think the re-resolution should be made while 30% think not. About 60% of the Island people oppose the currently forcefully processed construction.

While 51 % are to be told in favor of naval base, 82% think there has to be special support policies in the affected areas by the naval base construction on which the central and Island government have not given any responsible measures.

While the opposition parties occupy the Island Council more than half, a hope has been recently heightened for re-resolution. However, as there was the possibility of the Democratic Party (the main opposition) members being compromised at the last minute, tension was also followed.

Background

After the Gangjeong villagers got an unjust court decision of dismissal of lawsuit on the confirmation on the cancellation of the annulment of the absolute preservation area, itself, for being reasoned of their disqualification as plaintiffs from the Jeju local court in Dec. 15, 2010, they appealed the lawsuit to a higher court located in Gwangjoo, South Jeolla province on Dec. 27, 2010. Its final review will be on March 23.

The villagers have constantly pressured the Island council and Island government with relay one-man protest and statements to cancel the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in their village, of which bill was passed in snatched way by the ex-Island council whose majority members were from the conservative right wing Grand Nation Party then in December. 2009.

The Pan-Island Committee for Prevention of Military Base and for Realization of Peace Island have led the public opinion of the Island people through its relay one-man protests, street protests, and public cultural events, also.

However, the Island Council members including those from the Democratic Party whose members now occupy 19 among 41 seats of the Island Council have shown irresponsible attitude saying that there are nothing that they can on it even though they think the procedure to pass the bill in 2009 was wrong while the Island governor, Woo Keun-Min who occupied the new Island government last July has made official of his will on naval base construction.

Given the court results on Dec. 15, 2010 on the issue of absolute preservation area and another on July 15, 2010 when the Seoul administrative court made ambiguous court decision on the issue of procedure on the approval disposal by the Minister of National Defense, regarding the naval base construction, in which the court said it was not illegal for the ministry to have gone the procedure on environmental affect-which had been done in rough-and-ready methods-in the business area even though the minister’s first approval on the naval base related execution was illegal, the navy has enforced the naval base construction on which the budget of 150 billion won had been allocated by the National Assembly for this fiscal year, despite the fact that the appealed lawsuit on the issue of the absolute preservation area has not been made with its final court decision yet, which is expected in April, this year and no court decision yet on the villagers’ third lawsuit on the issue of public sea surface- of which the court decision will be very subordinated to the appealed lawsuit on the issue of the absolute preservation area.

The navy, holding its opening ceremony on Feb. 9, which had been criticized even by the Jeju media for the navy’s attempt on media-manipulation, has enforced the construction in the coast by putting tetra pods in the area of the Metboori, the western end of the planned naval base area and plant supports in the area of the Gangjeong port, the eastern end of the planned naval base area.

Recently, it has entered the construction on flattening and widening road from the naval field office area to the west coast and on setting up fence.

The villagers worn out from long-time struggle with loneness, isolation, broken community and lots of threats including various and tremendous fines, could not have the will to physically prevent the ongoing construction any more. But here are translated segments from their March 6 statement. In their statement, the villagers criticize the navy, along with Samsung and Daerim companies whose corporation profit logic is warned as the below:

The navy has issued that it would install the outer fence in the whole planned naval base area.
And it is planning to finish the installation on the web for prevention of dirty water during the future maritime construction within March and to enter the dredging construction in April (* which was later known to be planned from March 19)




Otherwise, the maritime constructions on installation on the webs for prevention of dirty water in the Metboori coast area and near the Gangjeong port are being processed and the basic construction on the access road in the planned naval base area are being processed by covering the beautiful Goorumbee rocks with stones and dirt.




We are dumbfounded with rage that the business to destroy the Gurumbee that is the wholly one rock of 615meter in length and the lst level scenery is allowed while the Jeju Island is being promoted as one of the seven wonders of nature in the world.





The navy itself knows that it is illegal to precede construction when the excavation research on the cultural properties within the planned naval base area has not been finished.

And while the trial digging researches by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea are in their heights, we cannot but ask what are the reasons to set up fence and to set up gate to control entry & exit.

It is told that the work area for the Daerim is also told to be set up with fence but the Daerim work area has not been finished with excavation researches on cultural properties therefore it means that the navy would carry out illegal acts itself.

It is also situation that there are being discovered about 20 signs of high possibilities on the excavation researches on cultural properties.


One cannot but concern about whether the Gangjeong villagers’participation and observation on the excavation on cultural properties might be shut down also if the fence that would cut down outside is to be set up and whether it comes from the intention to continue construction regardless of excavation researches on cultural properties.

The questionable is whether that was a disposal from the concern that there is a possible crisis for construction to be totally stopped for years during the excavation on cultural properties, because if the possibility of cultural properties unearthed is to be discovered, it would make total excavation be decided under the decision by the supervising committee of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.

[..]

As we have pointed out many times, the appealed lawsuit on the confirmation of cancellation on the annulment on the absolute preservation area is in process and the lawsuit against approval on the reclamation of public water surface is also being moored.

The official reason of the current turn given by the Island Council whose majority members from the Democratic Party (main opposition party), Democratic Labor party, etc. who are pressuring the central and Island governments that the council would make vote and re-resolution on the cancellation of bill on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village on March 15, is that because the members were infuriated by the irresponsibility of the central government that has not given any responsible answer to the Island’s proposal on the Island special law package which includes the special law on the support of affected areas by the naval base construction and law on the profit hospital. The Island council has been pressuring the Island and central government that if those do not give an answer by March 14, it would make re-resolution on the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village.

Even though the special law itself has many flaws, the cancellation of the bill on the annulment of absolute preservation areas by re-resolution itself is very important since the bill has been an excuse for the navy to enforce the construction.

Based on the fact that about more than 70% areas of the Island, not to mention the fact that the areas of the Gangjeong village are absolute preservation areas, the Island council’s re-resolution would set up absolutely important case to provide the basis to prevent the Jeju Island to be militarized in the future.

Considering that, the Gangjeong village people’s council has made a statement on March 9, in which it welcomed the Island council’s decision to make an agenda on the re-resolution. And it is also making best efforts to stop the construction by submitting the appeal to the higher court in Gwangjoo to make an order to the navy to stop the execution on construction.

The below is the translated excerpt of its March 9 statement titled as “Letter to the Island Council who showed courage for the future: To rightly establish the system on the absolute preservation area should be the future of the Jeju ." It includes the description on the procedure of the wrongly passed bill in December, 2009.

The absolute preservation system is the apparatus that the Jeju Island who is the weaker in the executive has made to protect the heavenly-blessed nature from the development policy of the central government.

It is to define the purpose of restraining reckless developments as the Island regulation by saying that the annulment [of the absolute preservation area] for development is principally impossible unless the reason for designation on it is changed later.

However, the absolute preservation areas in the planned naval base area in the Gangjeong village were annulled for the reason of national security [in Dec. 2009]

It was unprecedented event in the history of the Island Council since the electronic vote machine was introduced there that the machine was off and the bill was passed in snatched way by raised hands.

Even though the meaning of ‘the sitting council members’ means not the numbers of the present members but that of the members who were sitting in the seats at the time of vote, the result on the 1st vote was that 24 members among the 27 sitting members were in favor of [the annulment of the absolute preservation areas] while the camera was showing the situation in which merely a few members were sitting in the seats because many members flooded in protest toward the seat of the council chairman [who was from the conservative Grand National Party] at the time.

It was the accident in which the 2nd vote was carried out again 5minutes later as the council members’ protest was intensified, and even though the numbers of the council members who had gone out with fury were increased, the bill on the annulment of absolute preservation area was passed with the issued result of 18 in favor of annulment among 27 sitting members.

You can see the letter of the Pan-Island Committee who inquired in detail the situation at the time to the Island Council here (Sorry, only Korean)

Otherwise, Shin Yong-In, attorney and professor of the Jeju Island has strongly criticized the plaintiff-disqualified court decision on Dec. 15 saying that “The Jeju local court has committed faults to narrowly interpret the laws and regulations in its dismissal of lawsuit on Dec. 15," and has said that "Of course even though the resolution on the cancellation of the past bill itself can neither naturally cancel the disposal on the alteration on the absolute preservation areas nor forcefully stop the construction [in the areas]. However if the resolution on the cancellation on the past bill is established, the disposal on the alteration on the absolute preservation areas become to have the flaws of which it has no more legal agreement effect therefore to be in violation of law [..] Second, the resolution on the cancellation of the bill has effect to conduct the court to make just trial."

See the references here and here(Korean) and here(Korean).

The Democratic Labor Party has also said the submission on the bill on the re-resolution for the cancellation of the annulment in the past resolution was very reasonable in its March 11 statement saying that:

“As the 8th ex-Island Council has made a resolution in snatched way, it has become the starting point for the navy to enforce practical construction. The bill on the re-resolution to cancel the past resolution is reasonable because the latter was the resolution in which then the vice-chair made an opening statement with palm and the principle of not deliberating the same measure twice during the same session of the Island Council. "

It also says in a same statement:

‘The navy and Jeju Island are dazzling the Island people saying that the naval base construction currently being driven is the ‘civilian-military complex styled tour beauty harbor.’ It is the situation that the legal apparatus called ‘alteration on the basic plan on the bay and harbor’ for the tour beauty harbor has not been approved by the Ministry of Land and Maritime and it is questionable whether the harbor into which the cruise ships has to get permission for their entries from the naval joint chief of staff? All the elements show that the would-be-constructed base is a naval base.”

See also here(Korean) and here(Korean)

In its March 14 statement titled as the “Does the Woo Keun Min Island government want to go along with the Lee Myung-Bak regime in its fate?” the New Progressive Party pointed out in the part of it as the below (transaltion of artcle part):

“The reason for the enforcement of naval base construction can be found here. The Gangjeong naval base is being charged of construction by the Samsung Construction’ whose company motto is “one another family,’ and the Saerim industry whose company motto is “ a true heart build house” while the Aegis destroyers that would be moored at the base are jointly contracted to build by the Hyundae Heavy Industry and Lockheed Martin in the United States. Those capitals are hurrying and enforcing construction in complicit with the state power because there is the possibility of the business to be a white paper in the next government regime if they cannot progress the business pressured by the public oppositions and opinions of the Island people. The central government and navy whose position is to proceed to enforce construction as to the degree of situation of not being recovered even before the court decision of the higher court in which the issue on the cancellation of the agreement bill on the alteration of the absolute preservation areas’ appealed by the Gangjeong villagers and the Woo Keun-Min Island government who self-posits itself to be the accomplice of the illegal construction in fact are hanging on the rotten rope, which has a same fate with the Lee Myung Bak government that is falling down more and more into a slough. "





The Jeju Unification Youth Association said in its March 11 statement that [‘to make a re-resolution’]is to rightly establish the history of the Jeju Island.
The Jeju Environmental Movement Association said, “The Jeju Island council should pass the resolution on the cancellation on the agreement bill on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas without fail in its temporary general meeting this time,” and “The Gangjeong village is now in the situation of ‘a light before the wind’ and the navy is attempting to enforce construction every time in earnest without knowledge of the Gangjeong villagers,” criticized the members of the Grand Nation Party who try to prevent the re-resolution.

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The prayer and words by Dobub, leader of the Life and Peace Fellowship





For more photos, see also the site of the Life and Peace Fellowship



On March 14, 2011, amidst the urgent atmosphere in which the civil organizations in the Jeju Island are urging the Island Council to make re-resolution on the cancellation of the past bill on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village, which was passed in snatched way by the ex-Island Council whose majority members were conservative Grand Nation Party then in Dec. 2009 and the vote on the re-resolution by the current Island council’s general meeting is planned on March 15, Dobub, Buddhist monk, leader of the Life and Peace Fellowship whose members have been doing the 100days’ pilgrim in the Gangjeong village since March 8, 2011 are leading the morning prayer in the village. Realizing the importance of Island council’s re-resolution since it would make illegal of the navy’s current forceful naval base construction in the Gangjeong village, he thankfully came to the Jeju Island to encourage the people who want to save the world peace Island, Jeju. Dobub says, “Life and peace are the aspiration and order from the 4. 3 spirits [who have been killed during the 4.3 Jeju uprising in 1948]. We make a pilgrim with one heart to carry out that aspiration and order.”

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Large white circles in an excavation site, which indicate high possibility of cultural properties


Large white circles in an excavation site in the Gangjeong village were discovered on March 14, 2011. The excavation researches are being done by the Jeju Cultural Heritage Foundation.

The site has been discovered on Feb. 22, 2001 with the high expectation that there would be the high possibility of cultural properties to be discovered. But the white circles have not been drawn for a while. However white circles were finally discovered on March 14, 2011.


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Recovering the Olle course in the planned naval base area


After the navy changed Olle course days ago so that it makes the Olle tourists do not pass and see the Joongduk coast and sea in the Gangjeong village, which have become the planned naval base areas, some infuriated people seem to have recovered the Olle course. The Gangjeong sea is where the UNESCO designated soft corals inhibit and the Joongduk coast is where the endangered species like the red-feet crabs inhibit. The navy’s line is in red paint while the people’s peace olle is in yellow paint in the video

(video taken on March 14, 2011)
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Jeju Island citizens’ rally: Recover the bill on the canceled absolute preservation area

The Jeju Island citizens gathered in front of the Island Council buildings to demand the current Island Council to make a re-resolution on the cancellation on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village where the South Korean navy currently enforces naval base construction. The ex-Island Council’s vote on the annulment of the absolute preservation areas in the Gangjeong village in snatched way in December 2009 has given the legal pretext to the navy for construction that the villagers and Island people oppose. Video taken on March 14.




Jeju Island citizens sing for the peace in Gangjeong village and for no naval base. The tite of the song is '[Let's live] like a rock.'


Group Modajung sings, "Fly, song"_No Jeju Naval Base