Goseong-gun in Gangwon Province announced Wednesday that the military facility protection zone covering the southern part of Toseong-myeon — previously set at a 2-kilometer radius around a military communications facility — will be sharply reduced to a 500-meter radius, following an official gazette notice by the Ministry of National Defense.
Toseong-myeon is the southernmost township in Goseong-gun, bordering Sokcho, and is home to a string of tourist destinations including Ayajin Beach, Misiryeong Valley, a university global campus, Pine Ribs Golf Club, Daemyung Sono Delpino and Kensington Resort.
The deregulation is expected to open the southern part of Toseong-myeon to more active development.
According to the gazette notice, a restricted protection zone covering 6.39 million square meters across Goseong-gun and Sokcho — stemming from a military communications facility in Toseong-myeon — will be lifted. The area within Goseong-gun alone accounts for about 4.5 million square meters around Toseong-myeon.
The existing protection zone radius will shrink from 2 kilometers to 500 meters, and the elevation restriction — an elevation angle of 2 degrees — will be abolished.
As a result, construction and development projects in Bongpo-ri, Inheung-ri and Seongcheon-ri in Toseong-myeon, all of which fall within the newly deregulated area, will no longer require prior consultation with the relevant military unit, and height restrictions on buildings will be lifted.
However, a restricted protection zone within a 500-meter radius of the communications facility remains in place, leaving residents of Yongchon-ri frustrated. Many feel they cannot fully benefit from the relief that should compensate for the long sacrifices their community has endured due to the military presence.
Yongchon-ri sits close to Yeongnanho in Sokcho and sees heavy tourist foot traffic, making the continued military protection zone designation difficult for residents to understand.
"This reduction in the military facility protection zone is the result of years of sacrifice and effort by local residents, and we welcome it as a step toward developing the southern part of Toseong-myeon," a Goseong-gun official said. "At the same time, we recognize the problem that Yongchon-ri, where the military unit is actually stationed, remains within the protection zone. We will work closely with residents to swiftly pursue the lifting of the remaining military facility protection zone in Yongchon-ri, so that those most affected by the restrictions can fully share in the benefits of deregulation."
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