Jeju's continued bid to enforce entrance fee to island draws backlash

Tourists enter Jeju International Airport to depart the island on May 7. [NEWS1]

Jeju’s push for collecting an entrance fee from tourists visiting the island is sparking controversy.

The strife reignited when Jeju Governor Oh Young-hun said during a provincial council meeting in April that the provincial government is writing rough drafts of a bill that will charge some 8,000 won ($6) per visitor per day to Jeju Island.

The governor added that the legislation will be carried forward in a careful, sensitive manner under a social consensus, but the attempt has been facing strong disapproval.

Most comments under articles that cover the issue attacked the measure as double taxation imposed on tourists. Some sarcastic comments talked about spurring a “No Jeju” movement to better preserve Jeju Island’s ecosystem.

A recent survey of 300 people by research firm Metavey conducted between May 1 and 10 showed that Koreans favored Eastern coastal cities — such as Gangneung, Sokcho and Ulsan — as their most desired vacation site standing at 40.3 percent, over Jeju Island, with only 21.7 percent. Jeju Island has long been the No. 1 domestic tourist site in Korea.

The fee, tentatively named the "environment preservation contribution," aims to have tourists share the financial burden of preserving Jeju’s environment with the provincial government.

The additional charges may include: 5,000 won for renting a car for a day, 1,500 won per person a day for accommodation and 5 percent of tour bus fees. On average, tourists to Jeju will be charged 8,170 won extra for their stays, according to a survey published by the Korean Association for Local Finance in 2018.

The history of Jeju’s attempt to legislate environmental protection fees dates back to 2012. The Jeju government has made multiple bids to enact the law since then, but all efforts have been futile.

With the Yoon Suk Yeol administration setting Jeju’s environment preservation contribution as one of its policy goals and Gov. Oh pledging to do the same, Jeju Island is taking yet another shot.

The amount of domestic waste (1,314 tons) produced on Jeju Island in relation to its population was 1.82 times more than the waste volume produced in other provinces in 2018, according to the provincial government’s website.

It cost more than 62.4 billion won to dispose of the 1,305 tons of waste produced in Jeju in 2016, the service report said.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]