Military Facility Protection Zone in Gyeonggi Province to Be Lifted—3.5 Times Larger Than Yeouido

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] With approximately 3.5 times the area of Yeouido (2,900,000㎡) in military facility protection zones within Gyeonggi Province set to be dedesignated, Gyeonggi Province's efforts to lead the way in "extraordinary compensation for extraordinary sacrifice" are expected to become more concrete.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 14th, the Democratic Party of Korea and the government held party-government consultations on the morning of that day and decided to lift 100,674,284㎡ of military facility protection zones located in Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, and North Jeolla Province.

Of this, Gyeonggi Province saw the lifting of military facility protection zones covering a total of 10,073,293㎡, representing 10 percent of the total. Cities and counties in the northern border regions of Gyeonggi Province, including Paju, Goyang, Yangju, and Gimpo, were substantially included.

Specifically, Gimpo will have 1,558,761㎡ in the Taeri and Hyangsan-ri areas of Gochon-eup dedesignated, and Paju will have 1,796,822㎡ covering areas including Bongam-ri, Baekseok-ri, Beopwon-ri, and Seonyu-ri in Paju-eup and areas including Yongmi-ri in Gwangtan-myeon and Yadang-dong dedesignated.

Goyang will have 5,725,710㎡ covering areas including Ogeum-dong, Naeyou-dong, Daeja-dong, and Goyang-dong in Deogyang-gu and Deogi-dong in Ilsan-seo-gu, and areas including Seongseok-dong, Munbong-dong, Siksa-dong, and Saricheon-dong in Ilsan-dong-gu dedesignated, and Yangju will have 992,000㎡ in the areas including Dohwa-ri in Eunhyeon-myeon and Sangsui-ri in Nam-myeon dedesignated.

These areas will no longer require prior consultation with the military regarding permits and licenses for construction or development, enabling more streamlined regional development.

Furthermore, as the 73,685㎡-sized "controlled protection zone" in Gunnam-myeon, Paju, which had previously been prohibited from building construction and other development, is relaxed to a "restricted protection zone," development activities can now be pursued through military unit consultations and other processes.

The province expects that this decision will enhance the quality of life in the northern border regions of Gyeonggi Province, which have endured special sacrifices for national security, and that a substantial portion of excessive regulations that have hindered balanced development will be resolved.

In line with this, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who participated in the party-government consultations on that day, expressed his welcome for the decision.

Governor Lee stated, "Fairness is an important issue of our time. Many people agree that there should be no wronged individuals or wronged regions," emphasizing that "residents in northern regions of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province have faced difficulties in particular for national security."

He continued, "Extraordinary sacrifice requires corresponding extraordinary compensation. Before talking about compensation, there is a need to minimize sacrifice," and said, "I am grateful on behalf of the province's residents to the Ministry of Defense and the party-government for deciding to ease regulations while keeping only the essential parts."