President Lee Jae Myung demands earlier clearance of Gwangju Air Base — Korea Herald

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to expedite as much as possible the clearance of Gwangju Air Base, where a semiconductor cluster is planned. The current target called for temporarily transferring the base’s military functions to other airfields by mid-2028, but the president called this deadline too late, Korea Herald reports.

Accelerating the transfer of functions

The instruction was issued during the third joint public-private meeting on the Lee administration’s key megaprojects, dedicated to semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence and AI data centers. Before that, the Defense Ministry reported on a plan to temporarily distribute Gwangju Air Base’s military functions among other military airfields.

According to senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Lee called for considering all possibilities to shorten the schedule. He also stressed that, if necessary, amendments to laws and regulations should be assessed, along with a review of current rules and guidelines.

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No new date has been set yet

The president did not set a new deadline for clearing the base. Kang said that a specific acceleration plan has not yet been agreed upon: relevant agencies need time to work through the options and report the results.

Gwangju Air Base was selected as the site for the Honam semiconductor cluster, which is being considered the country’s second major chip production hub after the semiconductor belt around Yongin in Gyeonggi Province. The base is also one of five joint-use facilities where U.S. Air Force units and aircraft can be deployed in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. The issue of consultations with U.S. Forces Korea on the new schedule was not discussed at the meeting.