Gwangju Civic Groups: "Military Airport Relocation Neglects Honam Development Amid Political Games"

President Lee Jae Myung is holding the 'Gwangju Citizens and Jeonnam Residents Town Hall Meeting' at the National Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on June 25. Photo by Yonhap News Presidential Office Press Photographers Group

Civil society organizations in Gwangju have criticized the Democratic Party of Korea, stating that “the political maneuvering of the Democratic Party over the relocation of the Gwangju military airport to Muan is neglecting the development of the Honam region.”

The Gwangju Civil Society Council (referred to as the Council) issued a statement on the 14th, claiming, “Even after the President ordered the formation of a six-party task force (TF) for the relocation of the military airport to Muan, the Democratic Party continues to repeat its previous mismanagement.”

The Council explained, “At the town hall meeting in June, there were discussions that could be interpreted as an agreement among local governments to simultaneously relocate both the Gwangju civil airport and the military airport, and to develop Muan Airport as the main gateway airport for the southwestern region.”

They continued, “However, Muan County’s insistence on proceeding through a ‘local government open bidding process’ is essentially resetting the discussion to square one,” and pointed out, “This is an act of abandoning even the minimum level of political decency.”

They also stated, “Appointing Representative Seo Samseok, who has opposed the relocation of the military airport, as chairman of the Honam Development Special Committee is likely to strengthen County Governor Kim San’s opposition and could neutralize the six-party TF,” adding, “We oppose the use of the military airport issue as a tool for the political games of certain politicians.”

Finally, the Council emphasized, “We do not want incompetent politics that pushes discussions back into the past and creates a dysfunctional political state where nothing can be achieved,” and urged, “The Presidential Office and the Democratic Party must provide a clear answer to this.”

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