Geoje Govt Urges MOD to Return Cheong Hae Dae to Local Residents

Cheong Hae Dae, long served as a presidential summerhouse, was cleared from the special district 10 years ago. Yet, Jeodo Island, where the summerhouse was located, is still owned by the Ministry of Defense and controlled by the navy.

The Geoje Government now demands that the estate should be returned to local residents and used for regional development. Since the plan to build `Geoga Bridge` by 2010 linking Busan and Geoje through Jeodo Island is now in place, government insists that the ministry should open access to the island as soon as possible.

Cheong Hae Dae, sprawled inside the small island 1.5km off Jangmok-myeon, Geoje City, first began to be used as a presidential retreat in 1971 at the time of President Lee Seung-man. More than two decades later, President Kim Young-sam decided to close the retreat. In December on that year, it became a part of Jangmok-myoen district in Geoje after 18 years.

Facing vehement protests by fishermen asking for the right to fishing on the water near the island, the government then turned over the fishery management right to the fishermen`s association in that area. Until now, fishermen have been allowed to catch fish there.

After the retreat was cleared, President Kim Young-sam never visited the estate during his term, and his successor President Kim Dae-jung stayed there one night while he was having a summer vacation in July 1999.

In the meantime, the mansion has been used as vacation facilities for high-ranking military officers, and local residents were not allowed to access the `island in veil`.

Lee Hang-gyu, Geoje City council member, who formally asked the Ministry of Defense to return the island to the local government twice in 1997 and 2000, pointed out, ˝It is not right to limit access to the beautiful island only to high-ranking officers.˝

˝The fact that the military authority is controlling access to the facility hurts the good intention of closing the presidential summerhouse,˝ said another council member Kim Hae-yeon. ˝I will take the issue to the council meeting.˝

The Geoje Government, having asked for the return of the management right several times, crafted a plan in 2000 to build a maritime park equipped with resorts, marina and recreational facilities in Jeodo Island. There has been no progress in the project, however.

˝We believe that the navy okayed the plan to build Geoga Bridge through Jeodo Island because the island carries little significance as a military facility,˝ said an official from the local government. ˝We plan to aggressively seek the return of the island by collecting public opinions and holding public hearings.˝

˝Regardless of the presence of the summerhouse, Jeodo Island is a part of the naval operation area, which serves as a key base and houses military facilities,˝ said an official from the navy, adding he does not think the return is possible.

The island, originally a part of administrative district, was turned over to MOD in 1949. Since 1954, then, it has been controlled by the Navy. The some 131,300 pyong-scale island is covered with lush trees such as Camellias and Pines and has a 200 meter-long sand beach off the shore. There are a two-story 171-pyong main building, quarters for guards and security personnel, an observatory and a 9-hole golf course inside the island.

manman@donga.com