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Muan, Jeollanam-do, has been confirmed as the candidate site for the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport. It has been 12 years since Gwangju City first proposed the relocation to the Ministry of National Defense. The project, which had been stalled for a long time because no decision had even been made on where to build the new airport, is now moving forward to the final site selection stage.

On August 28, the Military Airport Relocation Site Selection Committee of the Ministry of National Defense selected the area around Mangun-myeon, Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, as the candidate site for the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 28th that it held the Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Site Selection Committee and confirmed the Mangun-myeon area in Muan-gun as the candidate site for the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport. The photo shows a view of Muan International Airport and the Mangun-myeon area taken from a village hall in Muan-gun, Jeonnam Gwangju that morning. Photo by Yonhap News

The push for the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport began in earnest in 2013 with the enactment of a special law on military airport relocation. The following October, Gwangju City submitted a relocation proposal to the Ministry of National Defense, and in 2016, the Ministry also determined that the relocation was feasible.

The main challenge was the relocation site. In the process of searching for candidate sites within Jeollanam-do, there was persistent opposition from local communities, and significant differences in positions between Gwangju City and Jeollanam-do. This is why more than 10 years passed after submitting the proposal without reaching a decision on the candidate site.

The project began to move forward again in December last year. Led by the Presidential Office, a six-party consultative body including Gwangju City, Jeollanam-do Province, Muan-gun, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, reached an agreement to relocate both the military and civilian airports from Gwangju to Muan.

The core of the agreement was that the government would take the lead in the relocation, provide support worth 1 trillion won to Muan, and promote the creation of a national industrial complex. Then, in April this year, the area around Mangun-myeon, Muan-gun, was designated as the preliminary candidate site for relocation.

Even after being designated as a preliminary candidate site, difficulties continued. Muan-gun refused to participate in the Site Selection Committee twice, demanding the priority relocation of Gwangju Civil Airport to Muan International Airport, a 1 trillion won support guarantee, and additional support measures at the national level.

The impasse was broken this month. After President Lee Jaemyung ordered a prompt push for the military airport relocation at a Cabinet meeting, Muan-gun resumed discussions with the government. Min Hyungbae, the Special Mayor for the Gwangju-Jeonnam Unified Special Region, and Kim San, the governor of Muan-gun, met to coordinate participation in the Site Selection Committee and support measures.

The government also began to outline specific support plans. On August 25, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated an area of 1.05 million pyeong around Hyeongyeong-myeon, Muan-gun, as a candidate site for a national industrial complex.

The fact that the Gwangju Military Airport site is included in the candidate area for the Honam region Semiconductor National Industrial Complex is one reason for the push to expedite the relocation. If the military airport is not vacated on schedule, it could affect the timetable for starting construction of the semiconductor cluster.

Going forward, the government and the Special Region for Gwangju-Jeonnam Unified City plan to further detail the support measures for Muan and begin the final relocation site selection procedures. The final decision by the Ministry of National Defense will be made after the support plan is established, a local referendum is held, and Muan-gun submits its application to host the airport.

The biggest variable is the local referendum. There has been continuing local opposition to the military airport relocation in Muan, mostly due to concerns over noise and property rights restrictions. The government and the Gwangju-Jeonnam Unified Special City plan to persuade residents by detailing the 1 trillion won support plan and the creation of a national industrial complex. The referendum is expected to be held around October. The government aims to finalize the relocation site by the end of this year.

An official from the Gwangju-Jeonnam Unified Special City said, "We will ensure there are no problems in the relocation process by preparing future development strategies for Muan and the southwestern region, including developing the national industrial complex, attracting businesses, and making the area a logistics hub."

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