The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said that the announcement over the site of a new airport in the country's southeastern region will be made in a "prompt and fair" manner amid growing political tensions over the selection process.

With the announcement slated for this week, the presidential office has been walking a tightrope, striving to fend off any possible fallout from the politically tinged race between the two candidate sites: Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province, and Gadeok Island in the southern port city of Busan.


"Of course, our stance is that (the announcement) should be made in a prompt and fair manner," a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency over the phone, declining to be identified.

Denying any involvement in the selection process, the official added that Cheong Wa Dae has never received a briefing from ADPi, a French firm that the Seoul government commissioned in June last year to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best site for the new airport.

The official also said that the announcement on the site will be made one or two days after ADPi explains the outcome of its feasibility study to the government.

"There is no need for any delay in the announcement (after the result is delivered)," he said.

The issue of the new airport has emerged as a political hot potato, particularly for the government and ruling Saenuri Party, as both candidate sites are situated in the southeastern region, their traditional support base. 

The ruling bloc has long been concerned that the regional rivalry over the airport site could cause a rift in its political stronghold ahead of the presidential election slated for December next year. (Yonhap)