'Yeouido Area 26.6 Times Larger' Military Facility Protection Zone Lifted... Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Chungju, and Changwon Also Included

September 9 Party-Government Meeting, 77.1㎢ Military Facility Protection Zone Lifted
49,803 m² Controlled Protection Zone Eased to Restricted Protection Zone
This Year, Full Survey and Additional Regulation Easing Planned for Areas South of the Capital Region

On the 9th, at the 'Military Facility Protection Zone Deregulation and Relaxation Party-Government Consultation' held at the National Assembly, key attendees including Lee In-young, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Cho Jung-sik, chairman of the Policy Committee, Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Jeong Kyeong-doo, Minister of National Defense, posed for a photo before the meeting began. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of National Defense have decided to lift restrictions on military facility protection zones covering an area 26.6 times the size of Yeouido. Previously, deregulation efforts were focused only on border areas, but starting this year, a full survey will be conducted on areas south of the Seoul metropolitan area to include them in the additional deregulation targets.

On the morning of the 9th, after the 'Military Facility Protection Zone Deregulation and Relaxation Party-Government' meeting held at the National Assembly, Cho Jung-sik, Chairman of the Democratic Party Policy Committee, said in a briefing, "The party and government share the recognition that residents and local governments have been experiencing many inconveniences related to military facility protection zones," adding, "We have decided to lift restrictions on 14 areas with no operational limitations, totaling 77.1㎢." Of the military facility protection zones to be lifted this time, 79% are in Gangwon Province, 19% in Gyeonggi Province, including Incheon Metropolitan City, Chungju in North Chungcheong Province, and Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province.

Chairman Cho said, "An area of 49,803 m² currently designated as a controlled protection zone will be relaxed to a restricted protection zone," explaining, "While new construction was practically prohibited in the controlled protection zone, relaxing it to a restricted protection zone will allow new construction with military consultation."

For areas where deregulation or relaxation cannot be immediately implemented within the military facility protection zones, development consultation tasks have been delegated to local governments to improve convenience for residents. Chairman Cho stated, "For restricted areas where military consultation was required for deregulation, the consultation tasks will be additionally entrusted to local governments," and added, "This is expected to resolve procedural inconveniences for citizens." Target areas include Ganghwa in Incheon, Yeoncheon, Uijeongbu, and Dongducheon in Gyeonggi Province, and Yanggu, Goseong, and Inje in Gangwon Province.

He also said, "Regarding the adjustment of the Civilian Control Line requested by local governments, measures will be prepared through discussions with related agencies," and announced, "To support economic revitalization in border areas, adjustments to the Civilian Control Line will be made in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Hwacheon and Goseong counties in Gangwon Province to improve access conditions for local farmers and external tourists."

The party and government plan to conduct a full survey of areas south of the Seoul metropolitan area this year and promote additional deregulation of military facility protection zones. Chairman Cho said, "The party and government will continue to promote deregulation of military facility protection zones," adding, "Starting this year, a full survey of military facility protection zones in areas south of the Seoul metropolitan area will be conducted to pursue further deregulation."

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, who attended the party-government meeting, said, "With the advancement of science and technology, many conditions and social phenomena related to operational execution have changed," and added, "Considering all factors, we are actively promoting deregulation in areas that do not affect operational execution while ensuring the convenience of the people, making great efforts to protect citizens' property rights."

He continued, "Although we have not yet fully satisfied all demands, we ask for understanding as we are approaching the public in a progressive manner," emphasizing, "We will proactively review many issues discussed here and strive to become a Ministry of National Defense trusted by the people."

Meanwhile, within military facility protection zones, development activities such as new construction or expansion of buildings are restricted. To develop, consultation with military authorities (statutory period of 30 days) is required, but these restrictions disappear once the area is deregulated. As part of Defense Reform 2.0, the party and government have been promoting the lifting of military facility protection zones. In December 2018, the party-government meeting decided to lift protection zones covering 336.99 million ㎡, equivalent to 116 times the area of Yeouido. In the 2017 party-government meeting, 37.1㎢ (12.8 times the area of Yeouido) was deregulated from military facility protection zones.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.