Suwon Mayor, Lawmakers Urge Defense Ministry to Prioritize Military Airport Relocation

Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun and National Assembly members representing the city visited the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday to deliver a joint petition calling for the Suwon military airport relocation to be designated as a national strategic project.

During a meeting with Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek, Mayor Lee and five lawmakers — Baek Hye-ryeon, Kim Young-jin, Kim Seung-won, Yeom Tae-young, and Kim Jun-hyuk — emphasized that "the relocation of Suwon military airport is a national strategic project that can simultaneously strengthen national defense capabilities and resolve public damage caused by military airport noise."

They noted that the project "has been stalled for an extended period" and requested government support.

The petition contained three key demands: the establishment of a military airport relocation task force under the Defense Ministry; the formation of a conflict mediation council under the Prime Minister's Office; and government support for developing an advanced strategic industrial complex featuring artificial intelligence and defense industries at the former airport site.

Defense Minister Ahn acknowledged that "the Suwon military airport relocation has made no progress for a long time" and pledged to "visit Suwon and Hwaseong cities directly to gather diverse opinions and restore momentum for the project." The city said the minister also indicated that the Defense Ministry would take an active role in finding solutions to the relocation issue.

The lawmakers spoke with one voice on the necessity of the relocation project. Representatives Baek and Kim Young-jin called it "an essential project for strengthening national defense and resolving public harm," while Representatives Kim Seung-won and Yeom added that "the military airport relocation must be pursued as a national-level strategic project." Representative Kim Jun-hyuk said he would work toward realizing both the airport relocation and the construction of Gyeonggi Southern International Airport.

Mayor Lee reiterated that "the Suwon military airport relocation is a state agenda of the current administration and a critical national project involving citizen safety, national defense, and balanced territorial development," urging the Defense Ministry to "accelerate candidate site selection and project implementation."

Suwon City plans to strengthen coordination with local lawmakers and continue consultations with the Defense Ministry to achieve tangible progress on the military airport relocation project.