Everybody’s business is nobody’s business

The government is in no position to shift the blame onto the past administration.

Suh Kyoung-hoThe author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo. The elephantine pork barrel Saemangeum project had been a hot potato for both liberal and conservative governments. The idea of reclaiming massive land by building a seawall and filling the estuary along the southwestern coast was first floated by Roh Tae-woo, the presidential candidate of the conservative party in December 1987. Construction started in 1991, but was halted twice due to the conflict with environmental groups and subsequent lawsuits. The world’s longest 33.9-kilometer (21-mile) seawall connecting Buan and Kunsan, both in North Jeolla, was finally completed in 2010, nearly two decades after the construction began. It was the country’s biggest state project.

The construction of the seawall left reclaimed land of 409 square kilometers (101,066 acres), nearly two-thirds the size of Seoul. But following governments had different ideas about the newfound vast land. Roh’s government initially eyed the land for farming. But the conservative government under President Lee Myung-bak, which finished the construction, wanted to develop the area into an economic hub of Northeast Asia by building industrial and tourism infrastructure. The succeeding Park Geun-hye administration hoped to build a huge industrial complex to back a free trade agreement with China. But the liberal Moon Jae-in administration wanted to develop the area into a mecca for solar and wind energy to push its coveted Green New Deal project. The current Yoon Suk Yeol administration is bent on transforming the area into a center for cutting-edge industries.

But the area remains isolated and deserted despite all the grandiose designs over the last three decades. In contrast, the Pudong district of Shanghai has turned into a brisk hub for trade and finance in Asia over the past 30 years. But desolate wind still blows over Samangeum thanks to the laggard investment by the private sector despite massive government spending to build an airport and port around the area. The government’s bid to host the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, taking place between Aug. 1-12, was certainly linked to the need to draw domestic and international attention and investments in the region.

It was the Park Geun-hye administration that applied to host the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, and the event was awarded to the following Moon Jae-in administration in August 2017, shortly after Moon was elected president. The Jamboree summer camping event in Saemangeum went through a feasibility study by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) in 2016. The state think tank cited “natural disaster” and “safety accidents” as potential risks. It recommended thorough preparation, because the Jamboree event was scheduled to be held early August, a period most susceptible to natural disasters like the extreme heat wave, typhoon and torrential rains.

The think tank also advised Korea to benchmark Japan which held the scouts’ summer event in a swath of reclaimed land in the west coast in 2015. Despite the sizzling heat, Japan could successfully host the event by learning from a pre-jamboree exercise in 2013 and preparing sufficient shelters, water supplies and food control to finish the global event without any hiccups.

Scouts from Germany preparing to leave the 2023 World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla, on Monday after the organizing committee decided to pull out from the venue due to the extreme heat and typhoon alert and hold the event at other locations in Korea. [YONHAP]

At that time, the KIEP concluded that Korea was capable of hosting the Jamboree, while strongly advising a thorough role sharing among the central government (Ministry of Gender Equality and Family), the provincial government (North Jeolla) and the Korea Scout Association. Since the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Culture and Sports were added to the organizing committee this year along with the Ministry of Gender Equality, three government ministers have co-headed the organizing committee. As the adage goes, everybody’s business is nobody’s business. The current conservative administration is in no position to shift the blame onto the past liberal administration.

The government and the private sector pitched in to save the devastated Jamboree event. But the organizers finally decided to pull out of Saemangeum due to the extreme heat and typhoon alert. Instead of the original jamboree design of global scouts mingling, sharing and enjoying in natural settings, they must settle for separate tours and entertainment sessions in Seoul and other locations. Nevertheless, Korea must make amends to finish the global event with less shame. The country must learn from this disgrace. It was shameful to see the prime minister personally making inspection on the toilets on the venue. That could be the price for paying little heed to the advises from the think tank.