Seongju committee seeks Defense Ministry review of golf course, alternative THAAD site

Posted on : 2016-08-22 17:48 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Ruling party reportedly seeking to avoid parliamentary ratification, due to battle with opposition
 
Alternative site in Seongju County for THAAD deployment site
Alternative site in Seongju County for THAAD deployment site

A Seongju residents committee opposing the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in North Gyeongsang Province plans to ask the Ministry of National Defense to review alternate candidate sites. The decision appears to raise the likelihood of the ministry replacing the Seongsan air defense base in Seongju with the Skyhill Seongju Country Club golf course as the anticipated THAAD deployment site. But now it is residents of Gimcheon near the golf course who are up in arms - and with the state outlay needed to purchase the course potentially subject to National Assembly consent, the controversy could end up spreading to the political world once again.

The Seongju Action Committee for Cancelling the Decision to Deploy THAAD reported holding a countermeasures meeting on the afternoon of Aug. 21, where members voted to approve a plan for proposing administrative procedures to examine an alternate candidate site besides Seongsan. The vote was 23 in favor of the plan and one against, with nine abstentions. The committee did not name any one alternative candidate site - leaving the matter for the Ministry of National Defense to decide after taking other factors into account. At the same time, the committee did not vote to disband, and set plans to discuss possible candlelight vigils in the future to protest the deployment.

In response, the ministry said it would “state its position if official requests are submitted through the relevant local government.” But sources reported it had internally nominated the Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club site in Seongju’s Chojeon township as a possible alternative site. The ministry also visited the location on Aug. 10-11 for a working-level examination.

A particular advantage for the golf course as a potential THAAD site is its location 18 km northwest of Seongju’s county office, which frees it from concerns about the effects of radar electromagnetic waves from the THAAD system. It is also located 680 meters above sea level, compared to the Seongsan artillery base‘s 383 meters. Its existing road access and electrical infrastructure mean it would not require much additional construction spending.

Lotte’s site covers an area of 1.78 million square meters, with 960,000 square meters of it consisting of an 18-hole golf course and 820,000 square meters of forests purchased to add another nine holes.

“Given the original selection standards for a THAAD deployment site, there doesn‘t appear to be any alternative besides the Skyhill golf course,” said a senior ministry official. The ministry previously stated six selection standards for its THAAD site: military utility, resident/equipment/flight safety, infrastructure (including electricity and roads), alertness and security, construction costs, and construction duration.

But renewed controversy appears inevitable even if the ministry does decide on the golf course as a final deployment site. With Lotte currently embroiled in an investigation by prosecutors for improprieties, the chances of its objection appear slim - but quieting objections from residents in nearby Gimcheon would be a more difficult matter. The village of Nogok in Gimcheon’s Nam township around one to two kilometers north of the golf course is home to around 40 to 50 households. It‘s also located seven kilometers from Gimcheon Innovation City. Since Aug. 20, Gimcheon residents have been opposing a possible deployment with candlelight rallies.

Another potential issue is objection from the Won-Buddhist community. The golf course is 1.9 km away from a sacred site where the denomination’s second head dharma master Chongsan was born. The location includes Chongsan‘s home, the temple Daegakjeon, and a dharma hall.

Unforeseen obstacles may also be in store for the purchasing of the Lotte Skyhill golf course, which could require National Assembly consent because of the state finances involved. Article 60 of the Constitution requires parliamentary consent for “treaties which will burden the State or people with an important financial obligation” and “treaties related to legislative matters.” The Ministry of National Defense previously rejected the opposition’s demands for National Assembly consent on the grounds that the deployment costs “are borne by the United States and would not cause any additional financial burden for the South Korean people.”

The political battle between ruling and opposition parties over the deployment’s legitimacy appears poised to intensify if the golf course site purchase is put up for a National Assembly vote. It is possible that the deployment could become too difficult to proceed with - or, at the very least, that it will not be completed by late 2017 as the government plans. For this reason, the ministry is reportedly considering ways of avoiding a National Assembly ratification, including exchanging the golf course site for other land owned by the state or diverting existing budget monies.

By Kim Il-woo, Daegu correspondent

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