Exclusive "Combat Aircraft Noise Damage Compensation to Expand"...Suwon's Efforts Bear Fruit

The noise damage compensation area around Suwon Military Airport is set to expand, with an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 residents who had been excluded from compensation benefits expected to benefit newly. This is interpreted as a partial reflection of improvements to the noise-affected boundary zone that residents and the Suwon municipal government have continuously requested.

According to Suwon city authorities and others as of the 11th, the Air Force Headquarters held a "briefing session on noise impact survey results (draft)" at the Gwonseon-gu office at 10 a.m. on that day and announced plans for re-designation of the noise-affected zone around Suwon Air Base. Around 100 residents affected by noise from the military airport attended the briefing.

According to the survey results presented by the Air Force Headquarters, the existing noise-affected zone is expected to expand by approximately 1.9㎢, and about 707 new lot numbers including multi-unit housing are anticipated to be included in the compensation area.

Accordingly, the number of compensated residents, previously estimated at approximately 63,000, is expected to increase by 3,000 to 4,000 people, reaching approximately 66,000 to 67,000.

In particular, it is significant that the survey results were presented in a direction where the compensation scope expands while maintaining existing compensation target areas.

The expansion of the compensation area is believed to have been influenced by Suwon city and residents' continuous demands for system improvements.

To date, Suwon city has recommended improvements to the military noise damage compensation system to the Ministry of Defense through the Local Government Council for Military Noise Damage Areas and other channels.

The main recommendations include reflecting inflation rates and socioeconomic conditions in compensation amounts, abolishing compensation reduction standards, and improving compensation equity for buildings located on the boundary of noise-affected zones.

In particular, Suwon has continuously requested improvements to the problem where some buildings within the same apartment complex receive compensation while others are excluded, as compensation areas are divided based on noise contour lines.

In the existing noise-affected zone, among 109 buildings in 10 multi-unit housing complexes on the boundary, only 59 buildings are included in the compensation target, with the remaining 50 buildings excluded.

In response, Suwon city recommended system improvements to the Ministry of Defense through official documents, and residents' representative councils and civic organizations also requested improvements to unreasonable compensation boundaries through collective complaints and petition submissions.

As a result, as the scope of the noise-affected zone has been partially expanded, some previously excluded multi-unit housing complexes are expected to be included in the new compensation target.

A Suwon city official stated, "We have recommended improvements to the compensation system to the Ministry of Defense through the Local Government Council for Military Noise Damage Areas, and residents have continuously raised the issues," adding, "These aspects have been gradually reflected, and it appears the compensation area has expanded as a result."

The noise impact survey is conducted every five years in accordance with the "Law on Prevention of Noise from Military Airfields and Shooting Ranges and Compensation for Damage."

The Ministry of Defense and the Air Force Headquarters have been conducting noise impact surveys around Suwon Air Base since December 2024, and plan to gather residents' opinions by the 15th.

The Ministry of Defense plans to finalize and announce the noise-affected zone by December following a process of opinion collection and review. The newly confirmed noise-affected zone will be applied as a compensation standard until the next five-year re-designation cycle.

A Suwon city official stated, "When the survey results are officially announced, some residents who have been uncompensated despite being affected are expected to be newly included in the compensation targets," and added, "We will continue to recommend improvements to compensation amount realization and the unreasonable reduction criteria."