Incheon International Airport [Airport Photographers Pool]
Incheon International Airport [Airport Photographers Pool]

As a prolonged heat wave drives as many as 200 homeless people to seek shelter at Incheon International Airport, the airport's operating authority has begun issuing eviction orders — drawing sharp criticism from a homeless rights group.

According to Homeless Action, a homeless rights organization, Incheon International Airport Corp. recently attached eviction notices to the belongings of homeless people living in the passenger terminals.

The notices ordered them to "immediately stop sleeping rough and leave the passenger terminal," warning that those who refuse could face fines, detention or penalties under the Airport Facilities Act, as well as criminal prosecution.

The number of homeless people staying at the airport — across Terminals 1 and 2 combined — has risen from the usual few dozen to as many as around 200 during the recent extreme heat.

Homeless Action said the airport authority's move could threaten the survival of homeless people.

Ju Jang-uk, a full-time activist at Homeless Action, said the airport authority should "halt the hastily pursued eviction measures and fulfill its duties as a public institution." He added that Incheon city, which has in effect neglected to build a support system for homeless people on the streets, must also move to establish one.

The group said homeless people staying at Incheon Airport are making "an unavoidable response for survival in a situation where they have no other options," characterizing their presence as an emergency measure to temporarily escape a crisis brought on by the state's failure to meet its obligations. The group added that "the fact that the airport has become a last refuge must not be understood as a matter of individual deviance or disorder."

Homeless Action plans to hold a press conference at Incheon Airport on Wednesday calling for the eviction measures to be halted.


jshan@heraldcorp.com