Your gift counts double until 5/31: $20,423 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Korean bishop opposes naval-base construction plan

CWN - August 17, 2011

Bishop Peter Kang U-il of Cheju, South Korea, has issued a statement opposing the construction of a naval base on Jeju island.

The bishop said that the naval base would have a negative impact on the local environment, and the “astronomical” cost of the project—estimated at close to $1 billion—could not be justified. He argued against taking on a “long-term project in pursuit of short-term economic interest.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($20,423 to go):
$80,000.00 $59,577.50
26% 74%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 2 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: Ut videam - Aug. 17, 2011 7:09 PM ET USA

    The "astronomical" cost of the project is misstated in this article by over three orders of magnitude. Reading the linked UCAnews article, we see that the price tag is estimated at 1 trillion Korean won, which equates to approximately $936 million at current exchange rates.

  • Posted by: Chestertonian - Aug. 17, 2011 6:11 PM ET USA

    W/o this base, S. Korea will probably have to continue to depend on the US Navy to safeguard against the nuclear madman to the north. Why spend your own money when you can spend the US's? They might feel differently about this project were the US to pull out forces, citing our own very real economic issues. They won't be worrying about the environment if the north attacks, I guarantee.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Revealing News, and Revealing Christ 15 hours ago
The Russell Ford problem 15 hours ago
Fr. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly: Your Letter May Help 22 hours ago
The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church May 23
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church May 23

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8