Kang Shin-chul says alternative landing airport still under discussion with US
58.2 billion won in US facility construction underway at Gwangju base this year
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Monday that South Korea is in talks with the United States about transferring the landing-airport function at Gwangju Air Base — used to receive US reinforcement troops in a contingency — to an alternative reserve airport after the base is relocated. No replacement airport has been chosen yet, and Kang said he intends to resolve the issue himself through a "top-down" approach rather than leaving it to working-level officials.
Speaking at the National Defense Committee comprehensive national audit at the National Assembly, Kang told People Power Party lawmaker Im Jong-deuk, who asked about the status of South Korea-US consultations on the Gwangju air base relocation, that discussions were under way on using a reserve airport for the landing-airport function. When asked whether a specific reserve airport had been selected, Kang said only that talks were continuing.
"There are aspects that need to be resolved top-down," Kang said. "That is how we will proceed."
Gwangju Air Base currently serves as a landing airport through which US weapons, equipment and supplies would flow in under the Time-Phased Force and Deployment Data plan in the event of a contingency. Consultations with Washington have been seen as a key variable that could determine the entire relocation timeline, as the government has been pushing to move the base quickly to free up land for a Honam-region semiconductor cluster.
Im pressed the Defense Ministry on its track record and organizational structure in its dealings with the US side. "Every time I ask, I'm told consultations with the US are going well," he said. "But when I asked the Air Force Chief of Staff about it, he said he had no idea because the Defense Ministry handles it — the ministry's own division of responsibilities isn't even clear."
The head of the Defense Ministry's Air Base Relocation Project Office, responding on behalf of the ministry, said officials meet with their US counterparts "frequently" through a special bilateral subcommittee, but declined to say how many times they had met specifically on the air base relocation issue.
Investment in US military facilities at Gwangju Air Base also came under scrutiny. Citing the US Army Corps of Engineers Far East District's annual report, Im said the Defense Ministry had commissioned 58.2 billion won ($43.9 million) worth of construction projects at the base this year, with three more planned for 2027. "The president has said even mid-2028 is too late and ordered the timeline moved up — isn't that a contradiction?" he asked.
Kang replied that US forces continue to invest in facilities right up until the day they withdraw, and asked lawmakers to understand the situation in that light. His remarks suggested the facility upgrades do not conflict with the relocation schedule.
Im also pressed Kang on what exactly the Defense Ministry was doing with the US side, noting that the minister of trade, industry and energy had said the Defense Ministry was handling the matter. Earlier, at the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee comprehensive national audit on Thursday, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said he was unaware of the construction work. Kim said at the time that the Defense Ministry was responsible for coordinating with USFK on the US military relocation.
The government is pursuing a plan to temporarily station the combat power of the 1st Fighter Wing at Gwangju at Yecheon Air Base (16th Fighter Wing) and Seosan Air Base (20th Fighter Wing), while shifting some functions of Yecheon Air Base to Jungwon Air Base in Chungju (19th Fighter Wing). President Lee Jae Myung, at the third public-private joint review meeting for mega-projects on Sept. 29, directed officials to review whether the temporary relocation completion target of mid-2028 could be moved up, calling the timeline too slow.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to build four semiconductor fabrication plants on the Gwangju Air Base site. Kang visited the 1st Fighter Wing at Gwangju on Oct. 14 and urged the Defense Ministry and the military to work as one to complete the temporary stationing and air base relocation mission.
rimsclub@heraldcorp.com
