Suwon Military Airport Relocation and Gyeonggi International Airport Construction Projects Fall into Political Controversy

The Suwon Military Airport relocation and Gyeonggi International Airport construction projects have become embroiled in political controversy. Although the local community has worked for decades to resolve these long-cherished regional projects, recent efforts to advance the Gyeonggi International Airport project have drawn criticism as 'credibility-building for presidential ambitions,' causing discussions on the actual necessity and implementation methods of the projects to take a backseat.

According to political circles and Gyeonggi Province on the 23rd, Governor Choo Mi-ae stated during the provincial audit at the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 19th that she would restart related research projects that had been suspended, emphasizing the necessity of constructing the Gyeonggi International Airport.

During questioning by Democratic Party Rep. Yeom Tae-young (Suwon District), Governor Choo emphasized the necessity of constructing the international airport, stating, "It makes no sense that Gyeonggi Province, which produces the most semiconductors and has sufficient demand for advanced air cargo, has no airport," basing her argument on the industrial characteristics of southern Gyeonggi and air cargo demand.

She also explained, "After taking office, I found that research projects for Gyeonggi International Airport had been suspended. There were concerns about conflicts of interest, but investigations found no problems, and I decided to restart the projects."

However, following Governor Choo's remarks, criticism arose questioning whether the Gyeonggi International Airport construction was a 'political credibility-building' effort with the upcoming presidential election in mind. Controversy over the province's financial situation and the priority order of project implementation also intensified. Debates erupted over whether it is appropriate to pursue large-scale airport construction while needing to address financial issues surrounding livelihood budgets and various provincial policy matters.

In response, Rep. Yeom publicly countered the criticism.

On the 22nd, Rep. Yeom stated through his SNS that the Gyeonggi International Airport is not a credibility-building project for Governor Choo's presidential ambitions, but rather a priority project of the province that has been pursued since former Governor Kim Dong-yeon's tenure.

In fact, the Gyeonggi International Airport construction was presented as a campaign pledge by candidate Kim Dong-yeon during the 2022 local elections. Subsequently, the province established a Gyeonggi International Airport promotion task force and has been pursuing business feasibility reviews and candidate site analyses.

Rep. Yeom stated that he has emphasized the commitment to promoting Gyeonggi International Airport during national audits in 2024 and 2025, expressing his position that evaluating it as a credibility-building project of a particular politician is not appropriate.

In particular, his argument emphasizes that since advanced industries such as semiconductors and biotechnology are concentrated in southern Gyeonggi, preparations should be made for long-term air logistics demand. The logic is that Incheon International Airport's capacity may reach its limits in the long term, and since considerable time is required for airport construction, preparations should begin now.

Regarding project funding, he proposed linking the Suwon Military Airport relocation with Gyeonggi International Airport construction.

Rep. Yeom stated that if the Suwon Military Airport relocation project is pursued through a land-for-facility exchange method, approximately 20 trillion won in available funds can be secured, and through this, an international airport can be constructed without direct financial burden to the province.

In contrast to political disputes, the projects have been in a virtual stalemate for approximately 10 years.

The Suwon Military Airport relocation project has not progressed to the next stage since the Defense Ministry designated the Hwaseong Hwawong district as a preliminary relocation candidate site in 2017.

While demands continue to resolve noise damage in areas surrounding the military airport and constraints on urban development, residents in the planned relocation area are opposing the plan due to concerns about new noise damage and environmental degradation.

The Defense Ministry launched a research project this year to address conflicts concerning the Suwon Military Airport relocation, but it too faces controversy over survey methods and scope.

The Defense Ministry project includes conducting face-to-face surveys of approximately 1,000 residents in the Hwaseong area and in-depth interviews with approximately 200 of them. Community communication meetings are also planned.

However, Hwaseong City argued that "explaining the advantages of military airport relocation, support projects, and coexistence possibilities before asking for opinions on the matter may influence respondents' judgments."

In particular, it opposed the Defense Ministry's survey plan, stating, "Surveys should focus on residents of Manses Ward, which has direct relevance to the preliminary relocation candidate site."

The Hwaseong City Council's Special Committee against the Suwon Military Airport Relocation to Hwaseong also issued a resolution on the 16th, opposing both the Defense Ministry's conflict management project and special legislation related to the Suwon Military Airport relocation.

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Democratic Party Rep. Kim Young-jin and others proposed special legislation including support for areas surrounding the military airport relocation and regulatory exemptions for development of existing sites, but criticism arose in the Hwaseong area that it was pursued without sufficient prior consultation.

Research projects initiated to resolve conflicts and special legislation to support business implementation have instead emerged as new sources of conflict.

The Gyeonggi International Airport construction has also failed to determine the final location.

The province proposed three preliminary candidate sites: the Hwaseong Lake reclaimed land in Hwaseong City, Seotanmyeon in Pyeongtaek City, and Mogamyeon in Icheon City, but has not reached the stage of selecting the final candidate site.

Both projects have repeatedly appeared as major campaign pledges over several elections. However, as the projects remain stalled for an extended period, recent controversies over Gyeonggi International Airport construction development have escalated into credibility-building disputes, causing policy discussions on how to proceed with Suwon Military Airport relocation and Gyeonggi International Airport construction to receive relatively less attention.

Rep. Yeom stated, "Airport construction is determined according to national plans. With the announcement of the 7th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan ahead, the province must do its best to reflect this," and added, "I urge that this project no longer be used as a political talking point."