Lawmakers from the People Power Party urged the government to halt a plan to temporarily disperse and station Gwangju military airport facilities and troops at the Air Force airfields in Seosan, Chungju, and Yecheon in North Gyeongsang.
People Power Party lawmakers Sung Il-jong of South Chungcheong's Seosan and Taean, Lee Jong-bae of North Chungcheong's Chungju, and Kim Hyeong-dong of North Gyeongsang's Andong and Yecheon held a news conference at the National Assembly on the 10th, saying, "They say the Gwangju military airport facilities and troops that were to transfer to Muan will be dispersed to Seosan, Chungju, and Yecheon through mid-2028," and criticized, "The Lee Jae-myung administration is taking Korea's security and other local residents' right to survival hostage to push a Honam semiconductor cluster."
The three lawmakers noted that even though residents in the areas have endured various harms such as decades of military airfield noise and restrictions on property rights, the government is pushing to deploy additional military facilities and troops without sufficient prior consultation.
Regarding the Ministry of National Defense's statement that it would conduct an additional noise impact survey after the temporary deployment, they said the administrative approach is backward, arguing that "deploying facilities and troops first and then investigating noise damage and reviewing compensation is putting the cart before the horse," and emphasized that collecting residents' opinions and assessing the impact of damages should come first.
Lee Jong-bae said, "Residents of Seosan and Yecheon, including Chungju, have endured noise and various restrictions for decades for national security," adding, "It is unacceptable to again demand unilateral sacrifice from local residents without sufficient explanation and consultation."