Jeonnam Province Expresses Regret Over Gwangju City's Broken Promise on Private Airport Relocation

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province expressed strong regret over Gwangju Metropolitan City's opinion to decide the timing of the relocation of the civilian airport together with the military airport relocation issue in the four-party consultative body consisting of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of National Defense, Gwangju, and Jeonnam, calling it a "breach of promise."

On the 10th, Lee Geonseop, spokesperson for Jeonnam Province, stated in a press release, "Gwangju City has broken its initial promise to relocate the civilian airport unconditionally."

Muan International Airport was planned as a hub airport for the southwestern region, including the functions of Gwangju Civilian Airport, and the integration of civilian airports was already agreed upon by both cities and provinces in 2018 and confirmed as a national plan.

The province also promised to present policy alternatives through the Gwangju-Jeonnam TF and continue detailed discussions in the four-party consultative body.

The spokesperson pointed out, "Despite these efforts, Gwangju City's announcement instantly destroyed the trust between the city and province," and "completely ignored and neglected the opinions of Jeonnam residents."

Regarding the name of Muan International Airport, he also claimed, "While 42.8% of citizens favored 'Gwangju Muan Airport,' 49% preferred a name prioritizing Muan."

The province stated that the four-party consultative body, to which Gwangju City shifted the responsibility for resolving the civilian airport relocation issue, is a working-level consultative body to discuss support measures for the military airport relocation. It has no decision-making authority regarding the civilian airport, and it was recently agreed in the joint development announcement that the consultative body would only handle military airport relocation issues.

The spokesperson emphasized, "Gwangju City used the four-party consultative body as a means to reverse the civilian airport integration and even endangered the existence of the consultative body," adding, "Gwangju City's claims have poured cold water on the hopes of the citizens emphasizing coexistence, and Gwangju City is responsible for all problems arising from this."

Meanwhile, Jeonnam Province stated that the issues of civilian and military airport relocation are national matters that cannot be resolved by the donation-for-transfer method, which is difficult to secure acceptability, and that they will work with the government to find a solution going forward.

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