The Suwon Military Airport relocation project has failed to finalize a definitive relocation site for over nine years since the preliminary candidate site was designated. From 2015 to this year, the city of Suwon, which is pushing for the relocation, and the city of Hwaseong, which opposes it, have spent approximately 25.0 billion won ($18 million USD equivalent) on public relations (PR) budgets regarding the pros and cons. As the differences between the two cities remain unbridled, the complex city development plan that Suwon aims to build on the 5.22 million square meters of the existing military airport site has also been postponed indefinitely.

◇ Final Relocation Site Unconfirmed... Cumulative PR Budget Reaches 25.0 Billion Won

According to budget review data from the Suwon and Hwaseong city councils on the 26th, the budgets allocated for PR regarding the pros and cons of the military airport relocation from 2015 to this year amount to 7.963 billion won for Suwon and 17.0346 billion won for Hwaseong. The combined total is 24.9976 billion won, roughly 25.0 billion won.

Both cities are continuing their PR campaigns this year. Hwaseong City has allocated 747.2 million won for customized PR projects to respond to the military airport relocation. It is conducting anti-relocation PR through about 1,600 media boards in Dongtan Station, Byeongjeom Station, and apartment complexes, while also utilizing social media (SNS) and video content.

Suwon City initially reflected 680 million won in its budget proposal for online and offline PR expenses this year. It is publicizing the necessity of relocating the military airport through media board advertisements near Suwon Station, operation of SNS channels, and YouTube advertisements.

The total budgets for Suwon City’s Airport Relocation Promotion Division and Hwaseong City’s Military Airport Response Division this year are 100.96 million won and 138.652 million won, respectively. Combined, the two departments account for about 2.39 billion won.

While the two cities maintain dedicated departments and continue PR campaigns, the relocation project has failed to move beyond the preliminary candidate site stage. In February 2017, the Ministry of National Defense designated Hwaseong’s Hwongji District as a preliminary candidate site for the Suwon Military Airport relocation. However, due to disagreements surrounding the relocation, the final relocation site has yet to be finalized.

Suwon Military Airport is a military facility used by the Air Force's 10th Fighter Wing. Suwon City envisions developing the existing 5.22 million square meter site after relocation into a complex city equipped with advanced industries, residential, and commercial facilities—roughly 1.8 times the size of Yeouido. It is also pushing to ease height restrictions in areas surrounding the military airport.

The project is structured in a "grant-for-transfer" format, where Suwon City builds a new military airport, hands it over to the Ministry of National Defense, and receives the existing military airport site in return for development. As the location for building the new airport remains undecided, development of the existing site has also seen no progress.

◇ Suwon Focuses on Development and Support Measures, Hwaseong Fears Noise and Environmental Damage

As support measures for the relocation area, Suwon City has proposed improving local residential environments, installing soundproofing facilities, expanding educational and welfare facilities, and creating high-tech farming complexes.

Hwaseong City maintains the position that compensation and development benefits alone cannot resolve the damage caused by the military airport relocation. In Maehyang-ri, near the Hwongji District, a U.S. military bombing and shooting range operated for 54 years from 1951 to 2005. Residents suffered from prolonged noise and misbombing damages.

Hwaseong City expresses concerns that if the military airport moves in, noise damage will occur and property rights may be restricted due to height restrictions. It also cites the potential damage to the wetland ecosystem around Lake Hwaseong, a migratory bird habitat, as a reason for opposition.

Recently, conflicts have continued over a special bill related to the relocation of the military airport proposed by lawmakers representing the Suwon region on the 30th of last month. Hwaseong City and the Hwaseong City Council urged the withdrawal of the bill, arguing that residents' opinions were not reflected.

Difficulties in consultations between relevant organizations were also raised in the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly. Jo Jung-ah, head of the Gyeonggi International Airport Promotion Division, explained during the Construction and Transportation Committee meeting of the Provincial Assembly on the 10th of last month, "I was told that last year, we requested Suwon City and Hwaseong City to attend meetings and other events, but they did not respond." The Ministry of National Defense's absence from meetings was also mentioned as a similar case.

Seo Jin-hyung, a professor of real estate law at Kwangwoon University, stated, "The relocation of a military airport is not an issue that can be resolved at the local government level; it is a matter intertwined with the Air Force's overall operational plan." He added, "Unless the central government adjusts military operational plans and promotes relocation and the development of former sites at the national level, it is difficult to advance the project solely through the capabilities of Gyeonggi Province or basic local governments."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]