Cheong Wa Dae: Gwangju Military Airport to Be Dispersed by 2028, Consultations with US on Track

Cheong Wa Dae announced that the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport facilities and the temporary dispersed deployment of aviation assets will be completed by the second half of 2028, enabling its early utilization as a site for the Honam region semiconductor cluster.

Kang Hoon-sik, Chief of Staff to the President, announced this during a briefing following the 2nd public-private joint meeting on mega-projects held at Cheong Wa Dae today (the 10th), explaining, "For the prospective ammunition depot site, we have decided to carry out preemptive preparations so that fab construction can begin as early as possible."

He added, "Currently, only 2.5 million pyeong has been designated as a candidate site for a national industrial complex, but we will quickly pursue additional candidate site designations for neighboring areas after verifying corporate demand."

Chief of Staff Kang stated that plans for water supply utilizing recycled wastewater and nearby dams, as well as measures for an uninterrupted power supply, were also discussed at the meeting.

Meanwhile, regarding arguments that US-related facility issues at Gwangju Military Airport—specifically its use as a Colocated Operating Base (COB) where US air power can deploy in contingencies—could emerge as a variable for investment, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official responded, "The government plans to consult well with the US at the governmental level, and the US has also been responding positively thus far."

The official added, "We plan to actively consult with the US side at the pan-governmental level to enable the early relocation of US facilities without negatively affecting the combined defense posture and ROK-US alliance pending issues."

The 2nd meeting held today reviewed and discussed support plans not only for the Honam semiconductor cluster but also for investment plans in the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions.

Previously, for the Chungcheong region, 8 companies announced a total of 392 trillion won in investment plans, while for the Yeongnam region, 12 companies announced 312 trillion won in investment plans.

Regarding this, Chief of Staff Kang stated, "Projects worth 246 trillion won by 6 companies in the Chungcheong region and projects worth 107 trillion won by 8 companies in the Yeongnam region are scheduled to begin construction or facility expansion within this year, respectively."

Chief of Staff Kang noted that a 57 trillion won research and development (R&D) project is also scheduled to begin without a hitch this year, explaining, "The government will establish consultation channels between central and local governments and companies by region to closely manage and resolve investment bottlenecks."

Physical artificial intelligence (AI) was also addressed at the meeting.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan reported that the government will actively create an initial market by purchasing more than 1,000 units, including 700 humanoids and quadrupedal robots, by 2030.

In response, President Lee Jae-myung remarked that this is "insufficient to create the physical AI market," and instructed officials to "substantially expand the scale of government procurement based on demand surveys to build a robotics ecosystem," according to Chief of Staff Kang.

In addition, win-win cooperation measures to address the so-called "K-shaped polarization" were discussed.

Cheong Wa Dae announced that it has decided to promote a 1-trillion-won "Growing Together Project" over the next 10 years, in which large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises cooperate from technology development to mass production.

It was also decided to supply 5 trillion won in win-win trade finance to alleviate financial difficulties for export-oriented parts and materials companies, and to create a new 5 trillion won semiconductor fund.

Furthermore, the government decided to support a substantial expansion of the conclusion of supply chain payment linkage agreements so that cost fluctuations are reasonably reflected in supply prices.

(Photo: Cheong Wa Dae Pool Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.