Gyeonggi-do Urges Government to Designate Border Areas as 'Opportunity Development Zones'

Pocheon Citizens Hold Rally Condemning Air Force Accidental Bombing
Military Accident Damage Recovery and Compensation Are Not Enough
Residents Demand Economic Self-Reliance Measures Amid Ongoing Sacrifices and Anxiety

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 23rd that military-related accidents have been occurring one after another, such as the Air Force accidental bombing accident in Pocheon City on the 6th and the collision between an Army drone and a helicopter in Yangju on the 17th, urging the government once again to designate the northern Gyeonggi border area as an Opportunity Development Zone.

At the Pocheon Citizens' General Rally held on the 19th, about 1,000 residents from 14 towns and townships gathered to demand compensation for damages and the enactment of a special law from the government, the National Assembly, and the Ministry of National Defense. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

On the 20th, Gyeonggi Province sent an official letter titled “Urgent Request for Designation of Opportunity Development Zone in Northern Gyeonggi Border Area” to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Local Era Committee. The letter included photos from the Pocheon Citizens’ General Rally held on the 19th and the Air Force accidental bombing damage site from the 6th.

At the Pocheon Citizens’ General Rally, about 1,000 residents from 14 towns and townships gathered to demand compensation for damages and the enactment of a special law from the government, National Assembly, and Ministry of National Defense. Five residents shaved their heads to raise awareness of the damage and urge fundamental countermeasures.

Since 42.3% of the total area of northern Gyeonggi is a military protection zone, the residents of the northern Gyeonggi border area have suffered economic sacrifices and daily anxiety. They emphasized the need for not only damage recovery but also mid- to long-term measures to revitalize the local economy, with the designation of an Opportunity Development Zone as one of the solutions. Given the growing anger of residents living in the northern Gyeonggi border area due to ongoing military-related accidents, fundamental measures are necessary.

Meanwhile, the Opportunity Development Zone, promoted as a national agenda by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is a system that revitalizes the local economy by granting tax and other benefits to companies within the special zone to attract regional investment. Upon designation, various tax and regulatory exemptions are provided, offering a groundbreaking opportunity for regional development.

Under the Local Decentralization and Balanced Development Act, areas designated by the Local Era Committee among the border areas of the metropolitan area and 10 cities and counties with population decline can apply. However, the Local Era Committee has not prepared guidelines for the metropolitan area for over two years since the law was enacted, so Gyeonggi Province has not even been able to apply so far.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province strongly urged the government to ▲prepare application guidelines for the metropolitan area Opportunity Development Zone by the Local Era Committee and ▲proceed with the application process for the Opportunity Development Zone in the northern Gyeonggi border area by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Lee Gye-sam, Director of the Balanced Development Office of Gyeonggi Province, said, “The Pocheon Citizens’ General Rally is the desperate voice of Pocheon citizens who have sacrificed for 75 years. The government should not only demand sacrifice but also prepare measures such as designating an Opportunity Development Zone as compensation for the sacrifice so that the region can become self-reliant.”

The province is doing its best to handle the accident by using disaster relief funds to provide daily recovery support funds of 1 million KRW per person to about 5,900 affected residents from the 1st to the 15th of next month, disaster consolation money of 3.74 million KRW for seriously injured and 1.87 million KRW for minor injured, and emergency disaster relief repair costs of 93 million KRW.

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