Korea confirms long-stalled Jeju second airport project

A bird’s-eye view of Jeju’s second airport. [Courtesy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

The South Korean government has confirmed the construction of Jeju’s second airport as a national project, allowing it to proceed after nearly nine years of delays.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Thursday, the government will release the basic plan for the construction of Second Jeju Airport on Friday and will advance with subsequent steps, including basic design and environmental assessments, within 2024.

The second Jeju airport will cover 5.51 million square meters on the island’s east coast in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo City, making it about 57 percent larger than the existing Jeju International Airport, with the total project cost estimated at 5.5 trillion won ($4.1 billion). Depending on future aviation demand and potential expansion, the new airport could handle an additional 3 million passengers, raising the annual capacity to 19.92 million.

The second airport project was first proposed to alleviate congestion at Jeju International Airport, which is nearing capacity. It has been 8 years and 10 months since the plan was initially announced in November 2015.