. Korean lawmakers criticize government's reversal in airstrip row

SBy Sam Kim
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's opposition and ruling party lawmakers
joined Monday in blasting the government's recent move to lift its 14-year-old
ban on the construction of a major skyscraper in proximity to a key military
airstrip.

The government decided last week to consider slightly readjusting a small
airfield south of Seoul to allow one of the country's biggest companies, Lotte
Group, to build a 555-meter-tall tower within its operational vicinity.
The decision by the prime minister's office comes amid persistent calls from
President Lee Myung-bak for a more "business-friendly" government since he took
office last February. Lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the
main opposition Democratic Party (DP) warned Monday that the move undermines
national security and fails to address the safety of dignitaries using the
airfield.
"This is a blow to our national security from within the government," DP
legislator Seo Jung-pyo said, chiding the defense minister and the Air Force
Chief of Staff at a parliamentary hearing.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of a military airplane slamming into the
building," GNP lawmaker Suh Chung-won said.
The two-runway airfield in the city of Seongnam sits less than 6 kilometers south
of the site where Lotte seeks to build the tower as an annex to its popular Lotte
World theme park.
The airfield has been integral to South Korea's capital defense, according to
experts, and presidents and high-level foreign guests have used it to avoid
disrupting operations at commercial airports.
On Sunday, a government source said the Air Force has proposed relocating the
presidential plane to a different airport due to safety concerns.
The Ministry of National Defense, a higher body, rebutted the proposal, saying
that turning one of the runways in Seongnam by three degrees would guarantee
flight safety if the measure is backed by high-tech radars.
The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration ruled against Lotte in 2007, siding with
the Air Force that complained of the 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
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