Civic groups urge government to guarantee Gadeok airport cost increases before special law revision

As disagreements over how to cover rising construction costs for the Gadeok New Airport site development drag on, the Busan Citizens' Movement for a New Airport and Hub Airline held a press conference Tuesday, urging the government to pursue a two-track approach: an official guarantee to reflect realistic cost increases and a concurrent amendment to the special law governing the airport's construction.

The issue is expected to become one of the central flashpoints at this session's national audit. Lawmakers from Busan and South Gyeongsang Province are widely anticipated to press the matter at audits of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday, the Gadeok New Airport Construction Authority on Oct. 22, and Busan City on Oct. 21.

At the press conference, held Tuesday morning at the Busan City Council briefing room, the group argued that a preliminary contract for the site development must be signed in October and construction of the priority work phase must begin in November to meet the government's 2035 opening target without disruption. "There must be no further delays to the project," the group said.

The group pointed to cost increases in raw materials, energy and transportation that arose after the Daewoo Engineering & Construction-led consortium was selected as the preferred bidder, citing the Middle East war among the contributing factors. Because the increases stemmed from force majeure circumstances beyond the control of the contracting parties — including instability in global supply chains — the government should incorporate the objectively verified cost increases into the construction budget, the group said. The consortium has sought an additional 620 billion won ($456 million), or about 5.8 percent of the originally budgeted 10.7 trillion won.

Within the government, revising the "total project cost management guidelines" had initially been the favored route, as a guidelines revision would be faster than amending legislation and would allow the construction schedule to be maintained. The government recently reversed course, however, citing fairness concerns relative to other state projects, and opted instead for a special law amendment. The Office for Government Policy Coordination notified relevant ministries of the decision to pursue the special law amendment on Sept. 28, according to sources.

At a ruling-opposition-government meeting on Busan's development held at Busan City Hall on Wednesday, Lee Seong-gwon, chairman of the People Power Party's Busan chapter, said revising the total project cost management guidelines or the enforcement decree of the State Contracts Act would be the easiest way to resolve the cost dispute. Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, however, asked both ruling and opposition parties to fast-track the special law, warning that revising the guidelines or the enforcement decree would apply the same standard to other state projects as well.

"Time is the most critical factor right now," the civic group said. Amending a law requires a full plenary vote in the National Assembly, and if the revision is delayed — pushing back both the preliminary contract and the start of priority construction — the 2035 opening target will inevitably be jeopardized, the group warned.

The group also called on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and fiscal authorities to stop passing the buck to each other, urged the Prime Minister's Office not to waver while ministries deflect responsibility, and said the presidential office must take direct charge to ensure President Lee Jae Myung's commitments are honored.

The group called for three steps: an official government guarantee to reasonably reflect construction cost increases that arose from force majeure circumstances during the basic design period; completion of the special law amendment within the current regular National Assembly session through a bipartisan agreement; and the formation of a pan-government task force for the normal construction of Gadeok New Airport, with the goals of meeting the 2035 opening date and achieving an earlier opening if possible. The group also urged Busan City and local politicians from both parties to mount an all-out response.

Concerns have also been raised that completing the special law amendment within the year may be uncertain, given that the national audit runs throughout October and budget deliberations dominate November and December. If the revision is delayed, the preliminary contract and groundbreaking will inevitably be pushed back again. There are also concerns that local construction firms in the consortium could withdraw if the cost dispute remains unresolved, as all consortium members must sign for the preliminary contract to proceed.