Positive Support for Constructing Haenam Resort Complex

A large resort complex including dozens of golf courses will be constructed in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla province (Jeollanam-do).

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance-Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai met with reporters at a luncheon meeting and said, “The Governor of South Jeolla Province Park Jun-young is assiduously going about for the resort complex construction. The government is planning to support it positively.”

Minister Lee added, “China’s Mission Hills Golf Club is building six courses and is in the second level of the construction. The Haenam resort complex must be constructed before 2010, when the World Exposition taking place in Shanghai.

He also added, “The surrounding scenery and the site conditions were highly favorable and foreign investors are showing much interest. The golf courses are only a part, and a resort complex will be constructed.”

The Haenam resort complex is the expansion of the “J project” (J is from the first letter of South Jeolla province) that province has been enthusiastically pushing.

The “J project” was started during former Governor Park Tae-young’s term in office, with a plan to build a tourist resort complex holding 500,000 people with golf courses, resorts, and casinos by the coast, including the reclaimed land in southwestern area of South Jeolla province.

At his visit to Mokpo City last month, President Roh Moo-hyun said, “The government is planning a huge project for South Jeolla province, which has gifted natural resources, for the leisure sports field,” indirectly expressing his intention to support the project. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced on Friday that a revised bill for the grasslands will be legislated, with the frame that in order to activate development in the grasslands including pastures, golf courses will be able to be constructed in the free economic zones such as Jeju Island and special development zones starting next year in July. Currently, the grasslands can only be exclusively used as orchards, a place for processing and storing agricultural products, or as public facilities.

Jin-Hup Song Jong sik Kong jinhup@donga.com kong@donga.com