hankyoreh

By Heo Ho-joon, Jeju Correspondent

Citizens and activists in Jeju protested against a construction company’s attempt to relocate a fence from Jungdeok three-way intersection in Gangjeong village to the borders of　naval construction site. The company’s relocation project has been cancelled.

According to the Gangjeong Village’s committee to oppose the base, the officials at the construction company visited the citizens and activists who were staging a sit-in demonstration at the Jungdeok three-intersection twice at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 to demanded that the the lookout tower be taken down. On Sept. 2, Navy tried to install a fence on the Jungdeok three-way intersection. Once the citizens started to strongly oppose the project, it installed the fence inside the borders instead, avoiding the sit-in demonstration sites.

Now officials at the construction company have demanded the lookout tower installation on the border of the construction site to be taken down, arguing that the current　fence needed to be relocated to the naval base construction site in order for cultural asset　excavation studies to be implemented. Human remains had been unearthed at the places where　fences were installed.

Experts at the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) have addressed the　problems of the having a fence installed on an excavation site for cultural assets. In response,　the construction company has announced that they would relocate the fence to the borders of the naval base construction site.

In response, Go Kwon-il, head of the village’s committee to oppose the base, said, “If it really was for excavating cultural assets, removal of the fence on the cultural asset excavation site should be the priority.”

In the face of village residents’ strong resistance, officials at the construction company, who visited the Jungdeok three-way　intersection to request that the lookout tower be uninstalled, left the site after announcing that there would be further discussion on this matter.

(Translated by Kim Min-ji)

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