Suwon Military Airport Relocation and Gyeonggi International Airport Project Becomes 'Election Tool'

The relocation of Suwon Military Airport and the construction of Gyeonggi International Airport are being mired in political controversy. Though this long-standing project has been a priority for local communities for decades, recent criticism surrounding the Gyeonggi International Airport project as 'building political achievements for presidential ambitions' has pushed substantive discussions on project necessity and implementation methods to the background.

According to political circles and Gyeonggi Province on the 23rd, Governor Choo Mi-ae announced at the province's state audit by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 19th that she would resume related research projects that had been suspended regarding the necessity of building Gyeonggi International Airport.

Governor Choo responded to the question from Democratic Party Representative Yeom Tae-young (Suwon District), stating "It doesn't make sense that Gyeonggi Province, which produces the most semiconductors and has sufficient demand for advanced air cargo, has no airport," emphasizing the necessity of building an international airport based on the industrial characteristics of southern Gyeonggi Province and air cargo demand.

She also explained that "Upon taking office, I discovered that the Gyeonggi International Airport project had been suspended," and "There was a misunderstanding about potential conflicts of interest, but the investigation found no issues, and I decided to resume the project."

However, after Governor Choo's remarks, criticism emerged questioning whether the Gyeonggi International Airport project was 'political achievement-building with an eye toward future presidential elections.' Controversy also intensified over the province's financial situation and project prioritization. Debate arose over whether it is appropriate to pursue large-scale airport construction while needing to address financial issues surrounding livelihood budgets and various provincial policy agendas.

In response, Representative Yeom publicly refuted these claims.

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

Indeed, the Gyeonggi International Airport project was presented as a campaign pledge by Kim Dong-yeon during the 2022 local elections. Subsequently, the province established a promotion taskforce and proceeded with feasibility reviews and candidate site analyses.

Representative Yeom emphasized that he has stressed the commitment to pursuing Gyeonggi International Airport in the 2024 and 2025 state audits and stated that it is inappropriate to evaluate the project as a specific politician's achievement.

In particular, given that advanced industries such as semiconductors and biotechnology are concentrated in southern Gyeonggi Province, the argument is that preparations must be made to meet long-term air logistics demand. The logic is that Incheon International Airport's capacity may reach limits in the long term, and since airport construction requires considerable time, preparations must begin now.

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

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

Unlike the political debate, the project has effectively been at a standstill for about 10 years.

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

While demands continue to resolve noise damage around the military airport and restrictions on urban development, residents of the planned relocation area are resisting out of concerns about new noise damage and environmental destruction.

The Defense Ministry began research and development this year to resolve conflicts concerning Suwon Military Airport relocation, but it too has faced controversy over survey methods and investigation scope.

The Defense Ministry project involves conducting face-to-face surveys with 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 "the survey method of first explaining the benefits of military airport relocation, support projects, and win-win possibilities before asking for opinions could influence respondents' judgment."

In particular, it objected to the Defense Ministry's survey plan, stating that "the investigation should focus on residents of Manse-gu, which has direct relevance to the preliminary relocation candidate site."

The Hwaseong City Council's special committee for opposing Suwon Military Airport relocation to Hwaseong City also issued a resolution on the 16th, opposing the Defense Ministry's conflict management project and the special legislation regarding Suwon Military Airport relocation.

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Democratic Party Representative Kim Young-jin and others submitted a special legislation bill containing support for areas around the military airport relocation and regulatory easing for existing site development, but criticism was raised in the Hwaseong area that it was pursued without sufficient preliminary consultations.

Research projects and legislative initiatives launched to resolve conflicts have thus become new sources of conflict.

The Gyeonggi International Airport project has also failed to determine a final location.

The province proposed three preliminary candidate sites: the Hwaseong Lake Reclamation District in Hwaseong City, Seotanmyeon in Pyeongtaek City, and Mogamyeon in Icheon City, but has not reached the selection of a final candidate site.

The two projects have repeatedly appeared as major campaign pledges through multiple elections over the years. However, with the projects stalled for extended periods and recent controversy surrounding Gyeonggi International Airport construction turning into an achievement controversy, policy discussions on how to promote Suwon Military Airport relocation and Gyeonggi International Airport construction are receiving relatively little attention.

Representative Yeom stated, "Airport construction is determined in accordance with national plans. With the announcement of the 7th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan approaching, the province must do its utmost to reflect this," and added, "I urge that this project no longer be used as political fodder."