Ministry of National Defense and Gwangju City Jointly Produce 'Military Airport Relocation Briefing Materials' Distributed in Jeonnam

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Ministry of National Defense and Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that they have jointly distributed explanatory materials on the ‘Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project’ to 22 local governments in Jeonnam.

The explanatory materials for the ‘Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project’ were produced and distributed under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defense to provide accurate project information and aid understanding for Jeonnam local governments and regional residents.

The materials are composed of content that can be provided before the selection of preliminary relocation candidate sites, including the overall procedures for relocating the Gwangju military airport, regional ripple effects, and support plans for areas surrounding the relocation site.

First, Chapter 1, ‘Military Airport Relocation Project,’ explains the systems and procedures related to the relocation and support of military airports.

It presents the reasons for relocating the military airport by citing the background that the special law, which serves as the basis for the relocation and support of military airports, was enacted to resolve increased noise damage caused by urbanization around military airports and the resulting increased national financial burden due to noise damage compensation.

Also, according to the procedures for the relocation project stipulated in the special law, the process involves step-by-step selection of preliminary relocation candidate sites, relocation candidate sites, and relocation sites through reviewing selection criteria, deliberation by the Relocation Site Selection Committee, and sufficient opinion gathering through consultations with local governments and resident voting.

Chapter 2, ‘Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project,’ explains the progress of the relocation promotion and the regional ripple effects.

After the Ministry of National Defense notified in August 2016 that the feasibility evaluation of the relocation proposal submitted by Gwangju City was ‘appropriate,’ three suitable areas were identified through candidate site surveys within Jeonnam Province and military operational suitability reviews.

It also presents the ripple effects of the Gwangju military airport relocation, including economic ripple effects such as production inducement, added value inducement, and employment inducement due to the construction phase and unit stationing, as well as social ripple effects such as improved living conditions, revitalization of the regional economy, and contributions to the local community.

Finally, Chapter 3, ‘Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project Implementation Plan,’ explains the construction of the new airport and support measures.

The direction for new airport construction focuses on minimizing noise damage by prioritizing areas with low population density and less noise damage during the site suitability review stage; adjusting runway location and direction by collecting local opinions during the design stage; expanding the new airport scale to 1.9 times that of the current Gwangju military airport and securing a 1.1 million pyeong noise buffer zone during the construction stage; and operating noise reduction measures including adjusting flight training hours during the military airport operation stage.

The scale of support project funds for areas surrounding the relocation site is guaranteed at a minimum of 450 billion KRW and can be increased depending on the value of the former site and relocation project costs after the selection of the relocation candidate site. Specific support projects will actively reflect residents’ opinions collected through public hearings and will be provided in various forms such as installation of living infrastructure, expansion of welfare facilities, income increase, and regional development.

Additionally, special support measures such as increased national subsidies, preferential contracts for local companies, and priority employment for local residents will be implemented. It is also stated that consultations are underway to prepare policies such as government support projects that can increase acceptance among local residents through the joint policy TF operation of Gwangju and Jeonnam.

Detailed information on the ‘Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project’ explanatory materials can be found on the websites of the Ministry of National Defense and Gwangju City. The Ministry of National Defense’s ‘Military Airport Relocation Q&A (Ask Anything About Military Airport Relocation),’ which addresses questions about the relocation, is also available on the website.

Deputy Director Bae Bok-hwan of the Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Promotion Headquarters said, “The Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Project is conducted through a democratic process reflecting the intentions of local government heads and residents according to the special law,” and added, “I hope the explanatory materials will be widely delivered to Jeonnam local governments and residents as accurate and correct information about the military airport relocation project and will be of great help in understanding it.”

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