President Lee Visits Planned Site of Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport: "Regrets Delays Caused by Funding Issues"

Daegu City: "Concentrated Financial Burden and Long-term Risks... Minimum National Support Needed"


Review of Military Airport Relocation and Expansion of Civilian Airport

On May 15, President Lee Jaemyung visited the planned construction site of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport to directly assess issues related to project funding and the risks of prolonged delays. When the Daegu city government requested national support, citing the heavy financial burden and potential for project delays, President Lee meticulously questioned site officials about the scale of additional costs and the extent of the fiscal burden.

Yonhap News Agency

According to a written briefing by Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Ahn Guyryeong, President Lee visited areas in Gunwi-gun, Daegu and Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do in the afternoon to inspect the status of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport project and the conditions on site. The visit was arranged to allow the President to check the progress of one of the region's most pressing issues in person and to listen to difficulties encountered during the project’s implementation.

On site, officials from the Daegu city government, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported to President Lee on the project’s overview, progress, and future plans. They also explained the current status of relocating the military and civil airports, the conditions of the planned construction site, and the funding challenges encountered during the project.

The Daegu city government emphasized that the integrated airport construction aims to relocate the military airport and drive regional development simultaneously. A city official explained, “By relocating the military airport to the outskirts and modernizing it through the construction of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport, we expect to strengthen capabilities and resolve residents’ inconveniences and social conflict costs caused by military airport noise and height restrictions in the urban area.”

The expansion and relocation of the civilian airport was presented as a task linked to the national balanced development strategy. A Daegu city official stated, “Through the expansion and relocation of the civilian airport, Daegu-Gyeongbuk can become a core hub for the five-regional, three-specialized zones strategy for national balanced development.”

However, the Daegu city government identified the burden of securing project funding as the most significant challenge to implementation. A city official noted, “The process of securing the substantial funding required for the construction of the military airport is resulting in excessive financial costs, and the risks of project delays are also concentrated on Daegu city,” adding, “At least a minimum level of national support is needed to ensure stable project implementation.”

President Lee expressed concern over possible project delays due to funding issues. He commented, “I am deeply concerned about the situation where project progress is being delayed due to funding problems,” and checked with officials on the scale of additional costs and fiscal burdens incurred as the project extends over time.

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