Gwangju Citizens' Rights Commission Holds Public Hearing on Gwangju Civil Airport Relocation

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan City Citizens' Rights Committee held a public hearing on the 29th in the city hall's main conference room to gather citizens' opinions on the relocation of Gwangju's civilian and military airports.

This public hearing provided citizens with information about the relocation of Gwangju's civilian and military airports and collected citizens' opinions through expert discussions and Q&A sessions. The event was broadcast live on the city's official YouTube channel, Hello Gwangju.

Choi Young-tae, Chairperson of the Citizens' Rights Committee, who delivered the keynote speech, recalled, "In the 2018 agreement, Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop and Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok agreed that the Gwangju civilian airport would be moved to Muan Airport by 2021, and Jeonnam Province would actively work to relocate the Gwangju military airport to the Jeonnam region."

However, he noted, "Even after two years, there has been no progress on the military airport relocation issue, while the time for relocating the civilian airport is approaching. Many Gwangju citizens question whether only the civilian airport should be moved while the military airport relocation is stalled. The city council has also repeatedly argued that the civilian airport relocation should be done together with the military airport."

He added, "Since the military airport relocation is urgent for Gwangju, cooperation from Jeonnam is necessary, and since revitalizing the civilian airport is urgent for Jeonnam, cooperation from Gwangju citizens is essential. Because they need each other, the agreement from two years ago was made."

Therefore, he said, "I hope Gwangju and Jeonnam recognize that they need each other and reach a smooth agreement for mutual development." He proposed that after this public hearing, just as Gwangju conducts a citizen opinion survey, Jeonnam Province should also carry out a public opinion survey among its residents, and if necessary, hold joint public discussions involving both Gwangju citizens and Jeonnam residents.

Following this, Seo Jeong-hoon, Special Committee Chair on Airport Relocation Discussions, reported on the progress of relocating Gwangju's civilian and military airports. The public hearing continued with presentations by Kim Jae-hyung, Professor at Chosun University and chair of the session; Jung Moo-chang, Chair of the City Council Operations Committee; Choi Wan-seok, Professor at Gwangju University; Kook Kang-hyun, Chair of the Airport Noise Damage Countermeasures Committee; and Son Yong-man, Secretary General of the Gwangju Tourism Association. They conveyed the advantages and disadvantages of the airport relocation to citizens and listened to diverse opinions through Q&A sessions.

A citizen attending the public hearing said, "Through this hearing, I learned parts about the airport relocation that I did not know before," and added, "The military airport relocation is not about moving an undesirable facility to Jeonnam but is for the future growth of both regions. I hope it becomes a driving force for regional development through sincere mutual understanding beyond individual interests."

Earlier, the Citizens' Rights Committee decided to recommend policies to Gwangju City after providing sufficient information to citizens through TV debates, public hearings, and banners, and collecting citizens' opinions via surveys on the citizen proposal submitted through Gwangju Metropolitan City's online democracy platform 'Baro Communication Gwangju!' titled 'The Gwangju civilian airport relocation should be done together with the military airport.'

Chairperson Choi Young-tae emphasized, "If discussions on everyday life topics like today's public hearing continue and yield positive results, local participatory democracy will develop accordingly," and stressed, "True coexistence can only gain legitimacy when solutions are found based on citizens' opinions." He urged citizens to actively participate in and pay attention to the public opinion surveys on the relocation of Gwangju's civilian and military airports.

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