Government Pushes Hard to Build Sahpae-san Tunnel Through Pukhan-san

President Roh Moo-hyun met with the Buddhist monk leadership of Korean Buddhism’s Jogye Order in Haein-sa in South Gyeongsang province on December 22 and said, “We intended to take into account public opinion, but the true meaning did not come across, and we cannot implement this plan,” regarding the construction of a road penetrating through Pukhan-san (Sahpae-san tunnel) as part of the Seoul Outer Circular Road.

Therefore, the construction of the Sahpae-san tunnel will resume without examining public opinion, which will be met with great opposition from environmental NGOs.

President Roh said, “I made a public pledge before last year’s presidential election that I would nullify the construction plan after hearing the Buddhist circles’ opinions. But when I took a look at the plan after becoming the president, I realized that much of the construction was already done and that tunnel was the only thing that was left,” in seeking the Buddhist circles’ understanding.

Regarding the remark, Bop-jon Sunim, Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order, said, “We can not underestimate the roles of environmental NGOs. We hope the president can accept them and embrace them,” and ordered Bop-jang Sunim, saying, “We understand well that the president is having difficulties in state affairs. Cooperate with him in working out state affairs as well as accepting his will.”

Moon Jae-in, Chief Secretary of Civil Affairs to the president, spoke through the Cheong Wa Dae’s Spokesperson Yoon Tae-young, explaining, “It can be regarded as a request for understanding of his not asking for public opinion and continuing the construction due to the delayed timeline,” regarding the president’s remark asking for cooperation.

Prior to this, Bop-jang Sunim, executive director of administration, said on December 17, “It is regrettable that President Roh is putting the blame on the Buddhist circles, while making it seem like we have declined to examine public opinion as suggested by the government.”

An member of Jogye Order said, “It is not unreasonable if one understands that the Jogye Order has allowed the resumption of the Sahpae-san tunnel construction through this meeting without a proper assessment of public opinion,” adding, “Instead, we are planning to ask the government to furnish an institutional and legal system to prevent any kind of environment-destroying development projects such as the Pukhan-san in the future.”

A joint meeting of NGOs against road construction through Pukhan-san National Park, Surak-san, and Buram-san, with participants from various NGOs, including the Buddhist Alliance for the Environment, released a statement saying, “We are not just going to sit and watch the government pushing hard to make the Sahpae-san tunneling project go on with cooperation from religious circles.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com