Muan-gun, part of the newly integrated South Jeolla-Gwangju Special City, has again boycotted the site selection committee for the relocation of Gwangju's military airport, stirring controversy. The county is understood to have played its boycott card by demanding the swift designation of a national industrial complex in Muan — one of three prerequisite conditions it has set for the relocation.
After the special city held talks with Muan-gun to understand the reasons behind its declared boycott of the selection committee, county officials specifically cited the absence of a concrete government commitment to designating the national industrial complex candidate site.
Muan-gun declared it would not attend the second meeting of the military airport relocation site selection committee, scheduled for Tuesday, demanding concrete fulfillment of the three prerequisite conditions tied to the Gwangju civilian airport relocation.
Of the three conditions, the prior relocation of the civilian airport and a 1 trillion won ($682 million) support package have seen considerable progress, with the government and the special city broadly aligned on how to proceed. However, the Muan national industrial complex — cited as the centerpiece of the national incentive package — has yet to even be designated as a candidate site.
Muan-gun is insisting that all three conditions be fulfilled simultaneously and is using a demand for a concrete government commitment on the national industrial complex candidate designation as its main negotiating card.
The county is pursuing a plan to develop a "RE100-based distributed energy specialized national industrial complex" near Muan International Airport, where companies' electricity needs would be met entirely through renewable energy.
The former South Jeolla Province had been pushing to have a distributed energy specialized national industrial complex designated in Muan after the entire South Jeolla region was designated a distributed energy special zone last year, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has yet to select the site as a national industrial complex candidate.
Muan-gun and the special city are drawing up plans to attract industries including semiconductor back-end packaging, K-food, agricultural AI, energy and advanced materials.
The special city is currently in talks with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the scope and procedures for a preliminary survey covering prospective tenants, demand for industrial land and project viability.
A national industrial complex must first be designated as a candidate site by the ministry before subsequent steps can begin — including drafting a detailed project plan, reviewing a project operator, conducting a preliminary feasibility study and consulting relevant ministries.
If the need to pursue the project as a national policy initiative is recognized after the candidate site is designated, an exemption from the preliminary feasibility study may also be considered, which could shorten the time needed to develop the complex.
For this reason, Muan-gun is understood to be calling on the ministry to first commit to a clear policy direction and timeline for designating the national industrial complex candidate site.
The special city's industrial complex division said it plans to begin consultations with the ministry this week to convey Muan-gun's demands and the vision for developing the national industrial complex.
The ministry has also expressed a positive stance toward pursuing the candidate site designation, though no concrete commitment on timing or procedure has been made.
Officials within and around the special city believe Muan-gun may return to the selection committee if the ministry offers a specific timeline or firm commitment on the Muan national industrial complex designation, and plan to work on persuading the ministry to that end.
"The civilian airport relocation and the 1 trillion won support package are broadly on track, and the key issue right now is the national industrial complex candidate designation," a special city official said. "We will work with the ministry to create conditions that allow Muan-gun to participate in the selection committee."
sij@heraldcorp.com
