Residents' vote on relocating military airfield if support pledges are put in writing

Muan County Governor Kim San announced through a press release on November 9 that if the government clearly specifies in an official document its pledged support for relocating the Gwangju military airfield (an airfield used by the military) to Muan, the county will hold a residents' vote asking the military and local residents directly whether they support the move. In the release, Governor Kim said his position is not opposition to the airfield relocation itself, but a commitment to honoring principles promised to county residents. "We welcome the Gwangju semiconductor cluster, and Muan will also grow together by developing into a semiconductor hub," he said.

The Ministry of National Defense selected the Mangun-myeon area of Muan County in August as the candidate site for the Gwangju military airfield relocation. The three preconditions put forward by Muan County are: prioritizing the relocation of Gwangju's civilian airport to Muan on the premise of the military airfield's move, 1 trillion won in support, and national-level incentives such as industrial complexes. The three conditions were also included in a joint statement issued by the six-party consultative body last December.

The Defense Ministry, the Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City, and Muan County have formed a task force to discuss support plans for areas around the relocation site, but have been unable to narrow internal disagreements. The residents' vote, originally planned for October or November, has yet to be scheduled. At a unified situation review meeting on November 9, Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City Mayor Min Hyung-bae ordered the creation of a special response team to ensure the residents' vote takes place within this year. Muan County explained that the vote would be a national policy referendum conducted at the request of the Defense Minister under Article 8 of the Special Act.