JEJU ― Local groups opposing the construction of a naval base on the island of Jeju denounced the government Thursday for denying them access to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, a major gathering of environmental professionals from around the world.

Villagers of Gangjeong, a small village on the southern coast of Jeju chosen as the site for the planned base, had sought to set up a booth inside the Jeju Convention Center, where the conference will be held till Sept. 15, but to no avail.

“Isn’t it nonsensical that the conference, which is to discuss all sorts of environmental issues around the world, is turning a blind eye to the environmental nightmare that is happening right here in Jeju?” the villagers’ group said. 

At least two foreign environmental activists were denied entry into Korea for their stance supportive of the villagers, they said.

They plan to hold a series of events outside the venue to garner global support for their movement.

“We demand the government to stop immediately the base construction, which is anti-environmental and is being pushed in an undemocratic way,” they said.

Korea’s Defense Ministry refuted the villagers’ claims in a press conference at the WCC media center Thursday. It said the authorities are following due procedures to construct the base, which is essential to bolster the country’s weak maritime security against growing oceanic powers.

In July, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Navy, rejecting a complaint filed by villagers asking it to suspend the work.

In April, the IUCN issued a statement, saying that the Korean government was not violating any domestic or international laws in its push to build the base.

“We trust that the Korean government has complied with all relevant domestic laws in planning and developing this port, as well as international conventions that it has signed,” the International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a statement posted on its website.

By Lee Sun-young  (milaya@heraldcorp.com)