KB News Desk
South Korea will consult the United States on expeditiously relocating US military facilities from Gwangju Air Base, which has been selected as the site of the country’s second semiconductor belt, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
President Lee Jae Myung ordered the military to draw up plans to transfer operations from the base to other airfields by mid-2028. Lee also directed officials to begin developing nearby land without waiting for the temporary relocation to be completed.
Lee issued the directives during the second public-private review of his administration’s three flagship megaprojects, spanning semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence and AI data centers.
The relocation, however, will require coordination with Washington because Gwangju Air Base serves as a collocated operating base designated to receive “key US military assets in wartime,” a senior presidential official said on condition of anonymity following the meeting.
“In that respect, its importance cannot be overstated.”
Asked whether Lee’s mid-2028 target indicated that an agreement with Washington had already been reached, the official said consultations were still underway.
“The government plans to actively consult with the US through a government-wide effort to facilitate the early relocation of US facilities without adversely affecting the combined defense posture or other pending alliance matters,” the official said.
“The US has so far responded positively to these consultations.”
However, the official declined to disclose where the Korean military operations currently based in Gwangju would be relocated: “I cannot provide details because many aspects of the planned temporary dispersal of operations from Gwangju Air Base involve military secrets.”
“What I can say is that the president, as commander in chief, and his aides discussed the matter carefully with the military to ensure that the move would not undermine our security readiness.”
Following the meeting, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said the government had decided to complete the relocation and temporary dispersal of military facilities by the second half of 2028, allowing the airfield site to be developed early as a semiconductor industrial complex.
“As for the planned ammunition depot site, we decided to begin site preparation early and ready the land in advance so that construction of a fabrication plant can begin as soon as possible if a company wishes to proceed,” Kang said.
The instruction is understood to refer to a vacant 366,000-square-meter site in Mareuk-dong near the air base that has been earmarked for an ammunition depot. Land-grading work has already been completed there as well. By installing infrastructure there first, the government aims to allow construction of a chip fabrication plant to begin before the broader military relocation is completed.
Kang said the proposed industrial complex could later be expanded beyond the 8.26-square-kilometer air base site, depending on corporate demand.
The government designated the 8.26-square-kilometer Gwangju Air Base site as a candidate for a national industrial complex following its first review of the megaprojects on July 6.
“After assessing demand from companies, we will also move swiftly to designate additional candidate sites in surrounding areas,” Kang said, without further details.
Kang further said the government will seek to enact a special law on “mega special zones” by the end of the year to shorten permitting and environmental reviews and accelerate the construction of power, water and transportation infrastructure.
The proposed legislation has already drawn opposition from labor groups amid speculation that it could include exemptions from labor rules, including a relaxation of the 52-hour workweek.
The government will also establish an interagency support council under the Prime Minister’s Office, alongside a dedicated megaproject unit to be created at Cheong Wa Dae, to coordinate work across ministries, Kang said.
