Published : Feb. 16, 2017 - 17:42
The South Korean government has selected preliminary candidate sites for the Daegu and Suwon airports, with local residents to be asked for their approval, the military said Thursday.
Guneui and a site overlapping Guneui and Uiseong have been shortlisted as the potential sites for the new Daegu airport which will be used both as a military airfield and a civilian airport, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
In this photo, taken on Jan. 12, 2017, government officials and experts talk about the relocation plan for Daegu airfield at a library in Daegu, 302 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
Guneui and Uiseong in North Gyeongsang Province are located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with Daegu placed just south of the counties.
For the new Suwon airfield, the government has picked a site in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, about 40 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the statement said.
"As we have selected preliminary sites for the new airports, nearby residents will be given the opportunity to vote on whether to accept or reject building the airport in their region," a ministry official said.
The final site will be selected within this year after going through the due administrative process.
The government has been seeking to move the existing airport in line with persistent demands from local residents who have complained of aircraft noise, development restrictions and other issues.
The relocation project was put on a fast track after President Park Geun-hye asked her government in July last year to forge ahead with the move. (Yonhap)