ID :
40071
Sun, 01/11/2009 - 20:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/40071
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean president likely to switch airport if skyscraper is allowed
(ATTN: ADDS para 6 for clarification; RECASTS lead; TRIMS)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's president may have to use a different
airport to ensure his safety if the government permits a local conglomerate to
raise an amusement tower near a military airstrip just outside Seoul, an official
said Sunday.
South Korea decided last week to consider slightly altering a small airstrip
south of Seoul to allow one of the country's biggest companies, Lotte Group, to
build a 555-meter-tall building nearby.
The two-runway airfield in the city of Seongnam sits less than 6 kilometers south
of the site where Lotte has pushed for more than a decade to build a tower that
would be annexed to its popular Lotte World theme park.
The airfield has also served as an integral part of South Korea's capital
defense, according to experts, and presidents and foreign dignitaries have used
it to avoid disrupting operations at commercial airports.
"Because of the judgment that the new building may seriously hamper the safety of
airplanes, there has been a suggestion that Air Force One needs to be relocated
to the Gimpo Airport" just west of Seoul, the official said, declining to be
identified.
The official said the Air Force has made the suggestion, even though the Ministry
of National Defense, a higher body, later rebutted it by saying that turning one
of the runways in Seongnam by three degrees would guarantee safety.
The Gimpo airport was South Korea's foremost international gateway before losing
its place to Incheon International Airport, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, in
2001.
The Wednesday decision by the prime minister's office to consider altering the
Seongnam airfield came as President Lee Myung-bak has called for a
"business-friendly" government since taking power early last year.
The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration ruled against Lotte in 2007, siding with
the Air Force that complained of potential safety hazard. But officials said last
year they were mulling a reversal as Lotte says it will entirely assume the costs
involved in readjusting the airstrip.
Lotte Group, founded by a Korean businessman in Japan, is one of South Korea's
largest family-run businesses, overseeing about 50 subsidiaries ranging from
retail and finances to hotels and entertainment. Lotte World, which opened next
to a shopping mall in 1989 in southeastern Seoul, is estimated to draw 5 million
visitors each year.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's president may have to use a different
airport to ensure his safety if the government permits a local conglomerate to
raise an amusement tower near a military airstrip just outside Seoul, an official
said Sunday.
South Korea decided last week to consider slightly altering a small airstrip
south of Seoul to allow one of the country's biggest companies, Lotte Group, to
build a 555-meter-tall building nearby.
The two-runway airfield in the city of Seongnam sits less than 6 kilometers south
of the site where Lotte has pushed for more than a decade to build a tower that
would be annexed to its popular Lotte World theme park.
The airfield has also served as an integral part of South Korea's capital
defense, according to experts, and presidents and foreign dignitaries have used
it to avoid disrupting operations at commercial airports.
"Because of the judgment that the new building may seriously hamper the safety of
airplanes, there has been a suggestion that Air Force One needs to be relocated
to the Gimpo Airport" just west of Seoul, the official said, declining to be
identified.
The official said the Air Force has made the suggestion, even though the Ministry
of National Defense, a higher body, later rebutted it by saying that turning one
of the runways in Seongnam by three degrees would guarantee safety.
The Gimpo airport was South Korea's foremost international gateway before losing
its place to Incheon International Airport, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, in
2001.
The Wednesday decision by the prime minister's office to consider altering the
Seongnam airfield came as President Lee Myung-bak has called for a
"business-friendly" government since taking power early last year.
The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration ruled against Lotte in 2007, siding with
the Air Force that complained of potential safety hazard. But officials said last
year they were mulling a reversal as Lotte says it will entirely assume the costs
involved in readjusting the airstrip.
Lotte Group, founded by a Korean businessman in Japan, is one of South Korea's
largest family-run businesses, overseeing about 50 subsidiaries ranging from
retail and finances to hotels and entertainment. Lotte World, which opened next
to a shopping mall in 1989 in southeastern Seoul, is estimated to draw 5 million
visitors each year.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
