Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo said Monday he would respect the central government’s decision to expand the existing airport in the port city to meet the increased demand for air traffic in the nation’s southeastern region. He made the right decision.

The central government announced on June 21 that it would scrap its plan to build the nation’s second hub airport in one of the two candidate sites -- Gadeokdo Island in Busan and Miryang of South Gyeongsang Province.

Busan had sought to host the new airport on Gadeokdo Island, while an alliance of four local governments -- Daegu, Ulsan, and South and North Gyeongsang provinces -- preferred Miryang, a town located at the center of the region.

The overly heated competition between the two sides was one of the factors behind the central government’s decision to scrap its scheme to build a new airport and choose instead to expand Gimhae Airport.

But Suh revolted against the central government’s decision, asserting that it was reached based on political rather than economic logic.

He argued that Gimhae Airport would not become a hub airport even if it was expanded as planned. One reason he cited was that it could not be operated round the clock. 

The mayor then said his city government would push for a new airport on Gadeokdo Island on its own by attracting private investors. Other leaders of the city echoed the mayor’s view.

The backlash from Busan leaders provoked Daegu citizens, who held a large rally on Saturday to denounce the central government.

If Suh had held his ground, it would have motivated Daegu and its allies to renew their own campaign. By declaring his endorsement of the central government’s plan, however, Suh has effectively prevented Busan’s rivals from rekindling the issue.

Yet there is still the possibility of politicians reviving the issue to earn political gains. During the campaign for the April parliamentary election, Moon Jae-in, one of the presidential hopefuls in the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, pledged to host the airport on Gadeokdo Island if voters of the city elected at least five Minjoo candidates.

Actually, the party’s candidates won in five of the city’s 18 constituencies. So if Moon is nominated as the party’s presidential candidate again next year, he may be tempted to bring up the airport issue again to win support from Busan voters.

Yet he would do well to remember that a survey has found that about 70 percent of Busan citizens think they should accept the central government’s plan to expand Gimhae Airport.