| STATEMENT OF DECLARATION AND GREETINGS FROM THE NEWS CONFERENCE AND PETITION OF 110 PEOPLE CONCERNING THE ABOLISHMENT OF CONSENT TO CONSTRUCT HAEIN GOLF COURSE INSIDE MOUNT KAYASAN NATIONAL PARK. Declaration by 110 people of various academic backgrounds on an all-out war to abolish construction of Haein Golf Course inside Mount Kayasan National Park Today(July 1, 1996) marks the first day that the Enforcement Ordinance for the amendment bill, introduced in June of last year, concerning government natural parks comes into effect. In June of 1995, the government introduced the Natural Park Amendment Bill with hopes to preserve its national parks. The bill essentially prohibits the construction of a golf course or ski resort that, if constructed, could provoke a large-scale destruction of the trees and mountains inside a national park. The Korean government has said that, "not only is the national park a park made for and belonging to the people of the country and the following generations to come, it is also a park that we must now try to preserve instead of further developing. We must make sure to preserve the national park as it is an ecological treasure that is home to animals, plants, and luxuriant forests." The government even received the people's support in their decision to cooperate with the people of Korea and to systematically aid in the preservation of the national park. The government showed their willingness to rigidly follow through with their promise when, on July 15, 1995, they abolished the consent given by the governor of Kyongsang North Province to construct Haein Golf Course(Contractor: Kaya Development Corporation President Kim Son Guk) 480 000 m2in size inside Mount Kayasan National Park. This rejection by the government was done one month after they made the announcement in advance that they would be introducing the National Park Law. The prevalent sentiment of the Korean people was that, over the years, there was reckless damage done to the national park and it could no longer afford to be negelcted. In complying with the Korean people's wishes, we at Haeinsa Temple focussed our administrative duties toward preserving the national park and fully lent our active support. We cannot help but express our disappointment and surprise at the decision by the administration of justice to allow the construction of a golf course inside the national park. Our hope was that the national park would always be able to keep its original beauty intact. On June 19, however, the Seoul High Court reversed the Ministry of Culture and Sports' decision to abolish the consent to build Haein Golf Course. The decision has left the people of Korea dumbfounded and has poured cold water on our dilligent efforts to protect Mount Kayasan from outside encroachment. It is cause for serious concern since not only are the future prospects of preserving and expanding the national park, the last standing symbol of ecological protection, out of the question, there is now the danger of utterly destroying the national park itself. We demand that the administration of justice reconsider its hasty decision. The following are the reasons why the abolishment of the consent given to build Haein Golf Course inside Mount Kayasan National Park must be done at once. The Natural Park Amendment Bill introduced by the Korean government comes into effect today and yet the government continues to allow the construction of the golf course inside the national park. The decision by the high court defeats the government's original purpose when it introduced the amendment bill and could further incite other businesses to go ahead with their original plans to build something inside the national park. This of course would lead to a large-scale destruction of the ecological harmony that exists within the park. If this is the case, the national park, one of the many parks granted protection by the amendment bill, can either already be considered a destroyed park or is doomed to be one. There is concern that the decision by the Seoul High Court to allow the construction of the golf course may incite a domino effect in the construction of golf courses across the country by local groups. The local governments, granted complete autonomy from the national government, may now feel they may construct golf courses in the name of revenue for their towns and cities. The 70 or so golf courses in the country that have been delayed in their construction may be allowed to resume construction and many businesses looking to open a new golf course in Korea may be more encouraged to do so. If the construction of a golf course inside Korea's national park cannot be prevented, one can imagine the formidable task of preventing the construction of golf courses in small cities and towns. This potential boom of golf courses could eventually lead to the utter destruction of nature. The government of Kyongsang North Province has admitted that their decision to consent to the construction of Haein Golf Course was an imprudent one that did not fully take into consideration the sentiment of the Korean people and did not reflect the changes in the administration's overall goals. They agree that the consent given to build Haein Golf Course should be fully abolished. Kaya Development Corporation must come to terms with the public, who has been critical of the corporation's plan to build the golf course, and voluntarily halt the construction of the golf course. Finally, we are also using the Mount Kayasan Haein Golf Course dispute as an opportunity to politely urge the national and local government to stop any further 'decorating' of the national park for economic profit. We must not forget that the national park also belongs to future generations of Koreans and therefore it must be preserved and protected at any cost. |