Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon Urges U.S. Military Base Altitude Restrictions to Be Eased

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Lee Suwon] Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon released an appeal statement on the 16th requesting the central government, the Air Force, and U.S. Forces Korea to ease altitude restrictions around the U.S. military base.

The appeal statement was issued to help citizens suffering property damage from long-standing altitude restrictions exercise their legitimate rights, and furthermore, to promote balanced regional development.

According to Pyeongtaek City, due to tactical air operation bases in the area including Camp Humphreys (K-6) and Pyeongtaek Osan Air Force Base (K-55), approximately 38% of the city's total area of 487.8 square kilometers is designated as a flight safety zone. In these flight safety zones, building heights are restricted, making development virtually impossible, causing property damage to the private sector and deterioration of urban residential environments.

Particularly, areas around Sinjang-dong and Paengseong Anju-ri are experiencing urban decay to the extent that residential environment improvement is urgent, but development has not occurred due to business viability issues caused by altitude restrictions, raising issues of regional decline and imbalances between regions.

In response, Pyeongtaek City has been promoting related research projects since June of last year and reached a conclusion that altitude restrictions could be partially eased. Based on the results of the research project, the city submitted an application for 'Review by the Military Facilities Protection Committee' (hereinafter referred to as the Military Facilities Review) to the Air Force on the 15th.

The Military Facilities Review will coordinate with the Air Force and military base commanders to derive results, and depending on those results, the maximum buildable height near the Pyeongtaek U.S. military base could be increased.

Mayor Jung Jang-seon stated, "Through the U.S. military base, Pyeongtaek has established itself as South Korea's security city, and our region is making great strides with various support measures related to the U.S. military." However, he added, "The old downtown areas near the U.S. military base have lived with minimal changes while Pyeongtaek has developed, bearing only the damages."

Mayor Jung then appealed to the government, the Air Force, and U.S. Forces Korea, saying, "Please make a bold decision so that citizens suffering from altitude restrictions can find some comfort."

Meanwhile, the Military Facilities Review results are expected to come out by the end of this year. If the city obtains a positive result from this review, Pyeongtaek City plans to pursue various development projects in the future.