Military protection zones — long cited as one of the main obstacles to development in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province — are expected to see broader deregulation or outright removal.
Ahead of the Ministry of National Defense's military protection zone review committee, scheduled for later this year, Gangwon Province has formally asked the military units overseeing the area to ease restrictions on roughly 39.35 square kilometers of border territory. All of the sites identified are areas where improving living conditions and advancing regional development are considered urgent.
The area is equivalent to approximately 5,512 soccer fields and is comparable in size to Gwangmyeong, the smallest city by area in the country.
Governor Woo Sang-ho attended a border-area peace and security joint conference hosted by the Ministry of Unification on Monday and asked the central government to support the proposal's approval.
This marks the third time the province has pursued such a request since a 2024 revision to the Special Act on the Establishment of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province allowed the governor to submit military deregulation proposals directly to the Ministry of National Defense.
Seven cities and counties in Gangwon Province border North Korea, and military restriction zones are concentrated in five of them — Cheorwon, Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje and Goseong.
Military-restricted land in those five counties totals 2,331 square kilometers, accounting for 48.42 percent of their combined administrative area of 4,814 square kilometers. Residents face significant constraints on farming, construction and the exercise of property rights as a result.
The area now proposed for deregulation is no more than 1.7 percent of the total military-restricted land. Through this proposal, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province aims to improve conditions for attracting businesses and for new construction and expansion, promoting balanced development across the border region.
The province plans to continue consultations with relevant agencies to ensure that meaningful deregulation is reflected in the Ministry of National Defense review committee's decision. Under the process, the province submits its proposal to the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose subordinate military facility protection review committees then deliberate and issue a final ruling.
Military deregulation in the province has been gradually expanding over the past five years: 6.6 square kilometers in 2021, 36.19 square kilometers in 2023, 3 square kilometers in February 2024, 12.98 square kilometers in March 2025, 9.17 square kilometers in January 2026 and 6.39 square kilometers in July 2026.
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province expects that if the proposal is accepted, it will gain further momentum when combined with the recently announced northward shift of the civilian control line, accelerating military deregulation efforts across the border region.
"Improving military regulations is a core task not only for relieving residents' inconvenience and guaranteeing their property rights, but also for the sustainable development of the border region," Governor Woo said. "We will strengthen cooperation with the central government to ensure the province's key projects proceed smoothly and lead the way toward sustainable development in the border area."
abc@heraldcorp.com
