Yang Hyang-ja Preliminary Candidate Emphasizes the Necessity of Gwangju Military Airport Relocation

“Plans to Strengthen Incentives for Preliminary Relocation Candidate Areas”

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Yang Hyangja, a preliminary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea for the National Assembly election in Seo-gu (Eul), Gwangju Metropolitan City, emphasized the necessity of relocating the Gwangju military airport and announced plans to strengthen incentives for the preliminary relocation candidate areas.

On the 25th, Yang stated in a press release, “The Gwangju military airport must be relocated according to the ‘2018 Gwangju-Jeonnam Win-Win Cooperation Agreement,’” adding, “The Air Force ammunition depot located in Mareuk-dong, Seo-gu, should also be relocated along with the military airport, and the military protection zone must be lifted simultaneously.”

However, he pointed out that including the military airport relocation as a pledge by the Democratic Party’s central party would only provoke opposition from the preliminary relocation candidate areas (hereafter referred to as relocation areas) without practical benefits.

Yang said, “Since a resident referendum is an essential procedure for the military airport relocation, the support of the local governments and residents in the relocation areas is necessary,” and argued, “Only proactive incentive policies can advance the military airport relocation process.”

He assessed that after subtracting the relocation costs from the value of the former site, about 450 billion KRW remains, but this amount is insufficient to persuade stakeholders through support projects. He emphasized that instead of simply using the difference for support projects, it is necessary to prepare plans to expand support by referring to systems such as support projects for areas surrounding power plants.

He continued, “Only a bomb of incentives that can pass the resident referendum is the fastest way,” and stated, “If I enter the National Assembly, I will draft a revision bill for the Military Airport Relocation Act based on various opinions from Gwangju City, Jeonnam Province, the Ministry of National Defense, and advice from experts.”

He added, “I will also listen to the opinions of local governments and residents in the relocation areas on the draft revision bill, propose the bill, and promptly push for legal amendments,” emphasizing, “I will strive to create a foundation for voluntary agreement so that the spirit of Gwangju-Jeonnam win-win cooperation can be realized.”

Meanwhile, Yang sent these opinions to the Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Citizens’ Promotion Council (with about 35,000 founding members), which was established on the 22nd.

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