How Gwangju Military Airport Can Become a Semiconductor Hub [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

Local Residents Must Be Persuaded,
Ammunition Depot Relocation and Security Gaps Must Be Addressed

The site of Gwangju Military Airport has been officially confirmed as the location for the national semiconductor industrial complex. While the issue of relocating Gwangju Military Airport has been discussed extensively and could yield results in the shortest possible time from a policy perspective, there are concerns due to deep-rooted conflicts between local governments that have lasted over 20 years, indicating that there are still many challenges to resolve.

Gwangju Military Airport

On July 6, the presidential office officially announced, through a joint public-private mega-project review meeting presided over by President Lee Jaemyung, that a large-scale national semiconductor industrial complex will be established on the site of Gwangju Military Airport in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. The former site of Gwangju Military Airport covers 8,201,103 square meters (2.48 million pyeong), and the current site spans 6,133,212 square meters (about 1.86 million pyeong). Discussions about integrating Gwangju Airport with Muan International Airport began in 2007 after the opening of Muan International Airport. However, due to strong opposition from Muan residents regarding the acceptance of the military airport, there has been no progress for 19 years.

The opposition from Muan County remains strong. In a statement released on July 2, Muan County said, "We have approached the issue of relocating Gwangju Military Airport with prudence and flexibility at a broader level," and emphasized, "The three key demands of Muan County, reflected in the joint statement of the six-party consultative body following the Gwangju town hall meeting in June last year, are core prerequisites for mutual development." The county further insisted, "The relocation of Gwangju Civil Airport to Muan International Airport must come first, followed by the establishment of a Jeonnam-Gwangju unified special city and government support of 1 trillion won, as well as the provision of groundbreaking incentives at the national level."

The ammunition depot relocation project has also returned to its original state. Since 2005, the Ministry of National Defense has been pushing to relocate the ammunition depots in the areas of Mareuk-dong and Kumho-dong in Seo-gu to Gwangju Military Airport. It planned to use a site of 793,388 square meters (about 240,000 pyeong) within the military airport for the new ammunition depot. With the change in government policy, the relocation project must now start over. When Gwangju Military Airport is eventually relocated to Muan—likely about 10 years from now—the ammunition depot is also expected to be moved to an entirely new site. Residents living near the Mareuk-dong ammunition depot, who have faced restrictions on property rights for decades due to the area's designation as a military facility protection zone, are expected to oppose this move.

There are also concerns about a potential security vacuum resulting from the relocation of Gwangju Airport. The key issue is how much the groundbreaking date can be advanced. Considering the security requirement to minimize gaps in ROK-US joint operations, a phased approach is being considered: first, temporarily relocating Gwangju Military Airport's combat assets to a nearby military airfield, immediately commencing site development, and then completing the permanent relocation in line with the completion of the new Muan Military Airport. The use of Gunsan base as a temporary relocation site is reportedly being discussed among local and military officials.

Kang Hoonsik, presidential policy chief, stated, "We are exploring various ways to expedite the relocation of the military airport without causing any security gaps."

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