Concerns Rise High..

Aircraft brushing past skyscraper could cause disaster..

The perennially bickering politicians made a rare bipartian chrus of protest against the government, or rather, the president on Monday.

Both governing and opposition legislators criticized in one voice the government's abrupt shift of policy toward allowing the construciton of a 555-meter-tall edifice just 5.5 kilometers away from a large military airport.

Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said there would be no safety problems if Seoul Airport alters its runway by three degrees to the West, as there has been much improvement in the function of flight safety equipment. And the builder, the Lotte Group, would pay all required cost estimated at about 100 billion Won, he added.

The nation's fifth largest familiy-controlled conglomerate engaged in businesses ranging from confectionary to department stores may be willing to help to finance the runway reconstruction rather than finding new space to realize its 15-year-old dream..

It was only last April, however, that Minister Lee said a skyscraper could put large aircraft using the airport with foreign VIPs aboard in danger. In the course of repeatedly rejecting Lotte's applicaiton, the Ministry has even showed a simulaiton of 9/11-like incident, Has there been so drastic an innovation in safety equipment over the past nine months?

It is not even muh of a secret the policy turnaround came around September right after a government-business meeting chaired by Presidnet Lee Myung-bak to cope with deepening economic crisis.

The airport should maintain perfect operational readiness for emergency situaitons like military conflicts and extreme weahter conditions.

Why does this administraion push for everything on its own before putting it up for pubilc discussion?

From The Korean Times..