Gyeonggi Province Holds Civil-Military Policy Workshop... Exploring Improvements to Military Facility Protection Zone System and Mutual Prosperity Measures

On October 27, Gyeonggi Province held the "2025 Gyeonggi Province Civil-Military Policy Workshop" at Uijeongbu Island Castle, where discussions were held on institutional improvements to ease regulations in military facility protection zones.

Gyeonggi Province held the "2025 Gyeonggi Province Civil-Military Policy Workshop" at Uijeongbu Island Castle on the 27th and is taking a commemorative photo. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

The workshop was attended by more than 60 participants, including the Director General of Balanced Development Planning at Gyeonggi Province, Assemblyman Lee Youngbong of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, the Chief of Civil-Military Operations Planning at the Ground Operations Command, public officials from city and county governments responsible for civil-military affairs, and military unit representatives, who shared their opinions on institutional reform.

The workshop was divided into two sessions, featuring case presentations and special lectures on improving the military facility protection zone system.

In the first session, Kang Hankoo, Director of the Defense Innovation Research Center at the Legislative Policy Research Institute, addressed "The Current Status and Utilization Measures of the Military Facility Protection Zone System." He examined the causes of conflict between civilians and the military, the current state of system operations, the concept and evaluation factors of operational review, the application of shielding theory to ease building height restrictions within flight safety zones, and the use of exceptions for public projects north of the Civilian Control Line, presenting practical measures to enhance land utilization.

In the second session, Jo Eunyoung, a researcher at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, discussed "Measures to Improve the Military Facility Protection Zone System." She pointed out that overlapping regulations on military facility protection zones and the Seoul metropolitan area hinder industrial infrastructure and regional development. She proposed institutional improvements for substantial regulatory easing, such as establishing a civil-military governance structure mandating local government participation and strengthening the principle of designating only the minimum necessary area.

Additionally, through a policy briefing, Gyeonggi Province shared updates on supporting military personnel accident insurance for disaster recovery assistance and the research project on the utilization and support plan for idle military land in Gyeonggi Province.

In collaboration with the provincial council, Gyeonggi Province established the legal basis for supporting the safe emergency relief activities of military personnel in disaster-affected areas by enacting the related ordinance (Ordinance on Securing Safety and Support for Military Personnel in Disaster Recovery Assistance in Gyeonggi Province) in May 2024. The project began in June 2024, supporting accident insurance enrollment for 1,567 military personnel in six cities and counties in 2024, and for 3,155 military personnel in five cities and counties in 2025.

In addition, three cities and counties-Gapyeong County, Paju City, and Yeoncheon County-presented cases of promoting regulatory easing in military facility protection zones, and discussions were held on efforts to improve the system.

Kim Sangsoo, Director General of Balanced Development Planning at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This was an opportunity to seek progressive ideas for mutual prosperity between civilians and the military regarding issues related to military facility protection zones." He added, "We will do our utmost to completely lift the 15 km restricted protection zone and turn military protection zones into game changers for regional development."

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