President Lee Jae-myung on the 24th called government support for the transfer of the Daegu military airport project "a policy decision and a matter of fiscal capacity," adding, "We will review it to make it feasible." The airport transfer is a core, long-held project for the region, and Lee pledged "swift progress" during the presidential race. He also said balanced regional development is essential to stabilize home prices in the greater Seoul area, adding, "The farther from Seoul, the more incentives should be provided." This is Lee's first visit to Daegu since his inauguration in June this year.
At the "Listening to Daegu's Heart" town hall meeting held at EXCO in Buk-gu, Daegu, on the afternoon of the day, Lee responded to a petition related to the airport transfer by saying, "It is not easy to promise state funding, but we will review sufficiently what scale and how much support is needed, and how much benefit it will generate, to make it feasible." However, Lee added, "We must make it feasible; we should not make empty promises," and "If we do it, we must do it properly and correctly." He signaled that the government will go through policy review procedures.
Lee also said that when transferring a military airport located in the city center, the vacated site should be used as an industrial base rather than a residential complex. "It is right to move the airport," Lee said, adding, "After moving it, turning this area (the former Daegu Airport site) into a residential complex is not acceptable; we must build an industrial base. The transfer of the military airport is a matter of defense and a national affair, so we will review it appropriately again."
During the Q&A, Lee also granted the floor directly to National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young, a six-term lawmaker representing Suseong-gap. Joo said, "Military bases belong to the nation, and Daegu has suffered noise damage for 70 years. It is state high-handedness to 'stake a claim' and then tell us to move it ourselves if we are frustrated," adding, "The nation should take the lead and relocate it." He drew laughter from Lee when he said, in particular, "If the government does not resolve this, I was going to bring it before the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee." Previously, at a town hall meeting in Gangwon on the of last month, Lee twice restrained Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-tae's requests to speak.
Lee again raised the need for balanced regional development. "There has been a lot of noise recently over housing, and if the greater Seoul home price issue is not corrected, at some point the lost 30 years will begin like in Japan," Lee said. He also said, "Balanced regional development, the most important task of our administration, is not consideration for the regions but, for the Republic of Korea to continue to grow and develop—perhaps to survive—the last survival strategy and exit."
Lee said, "Even if we design the same policy, we should give incentives to the provinces, and the farther the distance from Seoul, the more we should provide," adding, "Being in Yongsan, Seoul, I experience it every day: it is crowded, there are many people, there is a shortage of housing and turmoil, while in the provinces the problem is the lack of people." He continued, "Daegu once truly thrived, and there was a time when Daegu itself was pride itself, but at some point it came to the point where its regional per capita gross product was said to be at the very bottom nationwide."