Muan Selected as Candidate Site for Gwangju Military Airport Relocation... Final Decision Expected After 12 Years

Final Decision to Be Made After Establishing Support Plan, Residents’ Vote, and Application

Muan to Receive KRW 1 Trillion in Support and National Industrial Complex

Residents’ Vote Expected Around October

The Mangun-myeon area of Muan County in the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City has been selected as the candidate site for the relocation of the Gwangju military airport. This decision comes 12 years after the Gwangju city government first proposed relocating the military airport to the Ministry of National Defense. The project, which had long been stalled without even selecting a relocation site, will now move forward to the stage of establishing a support plan and conducting a residents’ vote to determine the final relocation site.

The Site Selection Committee for Military Airport Relocation under the Ministry of National Defense held a meeting on the 28th and selected the Mangun-myeon area of Muan County as the candidate site for relocating the Gwangju military airport.

A view of Muan International Airport and the surrounding Mangun-myeon area from a village hall in Muan County, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Ministry of National Defense stated, "We plan to rapidly proceed with the subsequent procedures, including establishing a support plan for the surrounding area and reflecting the results of the residents’ vote to select the final relocation site."

The selection of a candidate site does not mean that the final relocation site has been confirmed. According to the Special Act on the Relocation and Support of Military Airports, the Minister of National Defense and the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Mayor, who oversees the area of the current site, must establish a support plan for the surrounding area with the approval of the Relocation Project Support Committee.

Once the support plan is prepared, the Minister of National Defense will request the head of Muan County to conduct a residents' vote. The head of Muan County will then apply to host the military airport, reflecting the results of the residents’ vote, and the Ministry of National Defense will reconvene the site selection committee to determine the final relocation site.

The residents’ vote is expected to take place around October. The government aims to confirm the final relocation site within this year.

Minister of National Defense An Kyu-baek (fifth from right) is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the 2nd Gwangju Military Airport Relocation Site Selection Committee held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The relocation of the Gwangju military airport gained momentum in 2013 when the Special Act on the Relocation and Support of Military Airports was enacted. Gwangju City submitted a relocation proposal to the Ministry of National Defense in October of the following year, and in 2016, the Ministry also determined that the relocation was feasible.

However, during the site selection process, there was continued opposition from the Jeonnam region, and the positions of Gwangju and Jeonnam governments were also divided. This was why it took more than 10 years to select a candidate site, even after Gwangju submitted the relocation request.

It was not until December of last year that the project regained momentum. Under the initiative of the Presidential Office, a six-party consultative body—including Gwangju City, Jeonnam Province, Muan County, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport—reached an agreement to jointly relocate the Gwangju military and civil airports to Muan.

Central to the agreement were the government's leadership in the relocation and the provision of approximately 1 trillion won in support, as well as the establishment of a national industrial complex in Muan. Subsequently, in April of this year, the Mangun-myeon area of Muan County was designated as a preliminary candidate site.

Even after the designation as a preliminary candidate, disputes continued. Muan County twice refused to participate in the site selection committee meetings, demanding the priority relocation of the Gwangju civil airport to Muan International Airport, assurance of the 1 trillion won support package, and additional support measures at the national level.

This impasse was resolved earlier this month. After President Lee Jaemyung ordered the Cabinet to accelerate the airport relocation project, Muan County resumed negotiations with the government. Min Hyungbae, Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Mayor, and Kim San, head of Muan County, also met to coordinate participation in the committee and support measures.

Government support schemes are also becoming more concrete. On the 25th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport designated 1.05 million pyeong in Hyeonggyeong-myeon, Muan County, as a candidate site for the national industrial complex. The government plans to form a Relocation Project Support Committee, chaired by the Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, to prepare for the 1 trillion won in support and additional national-level measures agreed upon by the six-party consultative body.

A driving factor behind the urgency of the relocation is that the current Gwangju military airport site has been included among the candidate sites for the national semiconductor industrial complex in the Honam region. Delays in relocating the military airport could impact the construction schedule for the semiconductor cluster.

Going forward, the biggest variable will be the residents’ vote. In Muan, public opposition to the military airport relocation has persisted, citing reasons such as fighter jet noise and restrictions on property rights. The government and Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City plan to persuade residents by providing details on the 1 trillion won support package and the industrial complex project.

Kim San, head of Muan County, said, "The prior implementation and formalization of the three major requirements will serve as the minimum foundation for building trust during the upcoming process of persuading residents and holding the vote. We will work closely with the government and Gwangju Special City to ensure tangible benefits for the local area."

Min Hyungbae, Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Mayor, stated, "Together with the government, we will faithfully prepare support plans for the surrounding area and do our utmost to secure a brighter future for both Muan and the Jeonnam Gwangju region."

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