Gangjeong Village where Jeju's naval base was built, it has been so beautiful and prosperous that it was called Jeju Island's 'Jeil Gangjeong'. The relationship among Dongseonyeok Jip and U-alnyonk-Jip(It means neighborhood in Jeju dialect), Gapjang (It means same age friends), Guendang(It means kin) and relatives, alumni and older alumni or junior become estranged. Now, Gangjeong Village is in its biggest crisis since it was founded. Gangjeong is a national treasure protection zone designated as natural monument No.442, designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve area, The nearby area is designated as the Marine Conservation Zone designated by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and Jeju Provincial Marine Park, and Gurumbi is ecologically excellent, designated as the absolute conservation zone and the absolute conservation coast of Jeju Island. So, it was designated as a fishing village experience town in 2004 and a superior natural ecology town in 2006. However, in 2007, the village president and several others ignored the procedures and decided to run the village as a candidate for the naval base. The navy and then the governor of Jeju Island accepted the decision and chose it as the site for the naval base. In February 2016, Jeju naval base was completed despite protests from residents of Gangjeong Village, numerous residents of the island, and the public. Gangjeong Village was chosen as the site of a naval base in April 2007 when 87 among 1,200 voters decided to attend an extraordinary general meeting. In response, a counterproposal committee was set up in the village, and on August 10, 2007, the former village president who led the bid for the naval base was dismissed at an extraordinary general assembly, and a new village president was elected. And on August 20 of that year, 94 percent of the absolute majority at the town assembly with 725 members opposed the construction of a naval base.

The Ministry of National Defense designated Gangjeong Village located on the southern shores of Jeju Island as the site for the construction of a naval base in 2007. Since then, the decision has brought about severe confict among the people concerned, Navy and Jeju local government. This paper examines the issue of public interest judgment in case of public confict such as Jeju naval base construction. The fundamentals of the conflict in the case come from the justification on the part of the government’s decision. In the case of the navy, through the construction of its base, it purports the abstract concept of national security as its goal. On the other hand, it proceeded with its goal without suffcient evidence and justifcation as to why there is a need for a naval base in Jeju and why the ideal site has to be Gangjeong Village. The government (navy) is looking at the construction of the base from a national project point of view as a policy while the residents are approaching the problem from the matter of principle of community interest as a whole. This forms the fundamentals of confict and ultimately has resulted in a practical failure and postponement in the execution of the government policy. Following the Flathman’s argument, this paper has the perspective that securing justification in a public confict is the fundamental element in judging whether it is for the public interest or not. In order to do this, this paper focuses on the evidence and validity of various arguments surrounding the naval base construction and through them, look closely into the cause and effect of public confict and ultimately the alternative meaning of public interest. In addition, it seeks to point out the limits of policy approaches and conficts that appear due to differences in opinions regarding public interest when dealing with public issues that are lacking in values.