The Mangun-myeon area of Muan County has been confirmed as the candidate site for relocating the Gwangju military air base, where a semiconductor cluster for the Honam region is to be built.
The Ministry of National Defense said on the 28th that it selected the Mangun-myeon area in Muan County as the relocation candidate site at the second Gwangju Military Air Base Relocation Selection Committee meeting, held in the ministry's conference room.
The selection followed criteria and procedures established through consultations by a six-party body comprising the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Jeollanam-do Province, Gwangju Metropolitan City and Muan County, as well as the designation of a preliminary candidate site in April this year.
"With the selection of Muan County as the relocation candidate site, the Gwangju military air base relocation project has entered a full-fledged implementation phase," the ministry said. "A foundation has been laid to push the relocation project forward swiftly on the basis of cooperation among relevant agencies."
The government plans to flesh out a support package worth more than 1 trillion won ($720 million) to promote development in Muan County and assist residents. In addition to the 1 trillion won in support agreed by the six-party body, the government will prepare further national-level assistance measures.
To that end, a relocation project support committee chaired by the head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination will be formed to work out programs residents can feel directly, including improvements to living conditions and the residential environment and the creation of a base for local industry and jobs.
The government aims to finalize the relocation site for the Gwangju military air base within this year and to complete the Muan military air base by December 2032. It will then draw up a support plan for areas surrounding the new site and hold a local referendum, reflecting the outcome in the final decision on the relocation site.
"This selection of a relocation candidate site marks historic progress not only in resolving a regional issue that has persisted for decades but also in achieving balanced national development," Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said. "We will carry out the remaining relocation procedures transparently, together with the residents of Muan County."
