Talks on Gwangju military airport relocation kept under wraps

US insists on umbrella agreement first, raising suspicions of bid to bypass National Assembly

A trainer aircraft of the 1st Fighter Wing prepares for takeoff at Gwangju military airport. [Yonhap]
A trainer aircraft of the 1st Fighter Wing prepares for takeoff at Gwangju military airport. [Yonhap]

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said Monday it is "closely consulting with the US side to support the government's policy of strengthening semiconductor industry competitiveness while ensuring no gap in the combined defense posture."

The statement reflects the government's effort to meet two competing demands at once: the need for an early relocation of Gwangju military airport to accelerate the Honam semiconductor cluster project, and the security requirement of preventing any capability gap for US Forces Korea.

However, the Defense Ministry drew a line on specifics, asking for "understanding that detailed explanations are limited regarding matters currently under discussion between South Korea and the United States."

The Defense Ministry had sought a "separate consultation" with the United States covering Gwangju alone to speed up the relocation, but the US side conveyed that it wants the two countries to first conclude an umbrella agreement on the relocation of five jointly operated air bases — Daegu, Gwangju, Cheongju, Gimhae and Suwon — that has been under negotiation since 2020.

The government has determined that concluding the umbrella agreement would require National Assembly approval. Separate implementation arrangements for each individual base, including Gwangju, would also likely be needed after the umbrella agreement is signed. The Defense Ministry is said to be concerned that completing all these steps could delay the timeline for finishing the temporary redeployment.

USFK, however, told the ministry that changing procedures for Gwangju alone could actually take longer than concluding the umbrella agreement.

People Power Party lawmaker Choi Eun-seok said the United States recently conveyed to the Defense Ministry that "concluding the umbrella agreement covering the five airports in accordance with existing principles is a prerequisite for discussions on the Gwangju military airport relocation."

"The Defense Ministry itself acknowledges that concluding the umbrella agreement for the five airports is the originally planned procedure," Choi said. "I suspect that after President Lee Jae Myung ordered moving 'beyond speed to blitzkrieg,' the ministry is now looking for a detour that would allow it to skip necessary steps, including National Assembly approval."

The Defense Ministry is aiming for USFK to complete its temporary redeployment out of Gwangju military airport by mid-2028, the same target the Air Force has set for finishing its own temporary relocations to Yecheon, Chungju and Seosan.

In this regard, USFK reaffirmed its standing position that it "does not comment on host nation policy matters."

Under SOFA, US forces use approximately 742,000 square meters within Gwangju military airport. The relocation of the Daegu and Gwangju military airports has been a policy goal pursued since the Park Geun-hye administration.

The two countries established a special subcommittee on military airport relocation under the SOFA Joint Committee in 2020 to negotiate the umbrella agreement, and in October 2024 completed an initialing of the agreement text.


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com