Gyeonggi Province Formally Proposes to Ministry of Culture: Establish 'Yi Gun-hee Memorial Dedicated Exhibition Hall'

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Gyeonggi Province has formally proposed to the government to establish a dedicated exhibition hall for the 'Yi Gun-hee Collection' to display cultural properties and artworks donated by the bereaved family of late Samsung Chairman Yi Gun-hee in northern Gyeonggi Province.

The province submitted a 'proposal for attracting the Yi Gun-hee Collection Dedicated Exhibition Hall' to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 14th, stating that it aims to create national cultural facilities on land returned by U.S. Forces Korea for residents of northern Gyeonggi Province who have faced difficulties due to overlapping regulations.

Previously, Chairman Yi Gun-hee's bereaved family announced plans to donate approximately 23,000 items, including world-renowned Western paintings owned by Yi and modern art works by renowned Korean artists. In response, President Moon Jae-in instructed that dedicated spaces be prepared to publicly display and exhibit the donated artworks.

In its proposal, the province emphasized 'special compensation for special sacrifice.' The intent is to call for government support for northern Gyeonggi Province, which has been marginalized and suffered reverse discrimination in national balanced development policies due to its designation as part of the Seoul metropolitan area.

The province explained that all 4,266 square kilometers of northern Gyeonggi Province falls under the restrictions of the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act, with 42.8% designated as Paldang Special Measure Area and Military Facility Protection Zone, and 11.7% as Green Belt Area, suffering from overlapping regulations. Unlike Seoul (one facility) and Incheon (planned construction) in the same metropolitan area, Gyeonggi Province has no national cultural facilities.

As a concrete implementation plan, the province pointed to 'government-led development of U.S. Forces Korea return land,' which was a commitment and national agenda of the Moon Jae-in administration. According to the U.S. Forces Korea redeployment plan, northern Gyeonggi Province has 20 U.S. Forces return sites (with 126.2 million square meters of developable area out of 483.3 million square meters of return land) in three cities including Uijeongbu, Paju, and Dongducheon.

Considering the existing 'comprehensive development plan for areas surrounding U.S. Forces Korea garrison areas' being pursued by these cities and counties, the province plans to consult with cities and counties about possible plan modifications if needed to attract the 'Yi Gun-hee Collection Dedicated Exhibition Hall.'

Kim Jong-seok, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Residents of areas surrounding U.S. military bases have endured regional development constraints, noise pollution, and urban image degradation for over half a century for the sake of national security—areas that deserve special compensation for their special sacrifice. If the government leads the installation of the Yi Gun-hee Collection Dedicated Exhibition Hall on U.S. Forces Korea return sites, it can be developed more quickly and efficiently than other provinces securing land through private capital."