South Korea Removes Military Facility Protection Zones to Allow Public Use

Seoul – In a significant move to repurpose land for public use, South Korea’s defense ministry announced the lifting of military facility protection zones covering tens of millions of square meters nationwide on Friday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 53.75 million square meters of these zones were lifted, an area 18.5 times larger than Yeouido, Seoul’s financial district. This decision opens up new possibilities for development and public utilization of these areas.

Among the notable sites is a 27,303-square-meter area under the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in central Seoul. This site, previously occupied by a military unit, will now be available for development projects. Additionally, a flight safety zone of 15.8 million square meters around an airfield in Sejong, located 113 kilometers south of Seoul, was lifted following its conversion into a helicopter base in April. In response to this change, the ministry designated a new flight safety zone of 3.2 million square meters around the base.

The lifting of these zones is part of the ministry’s effort to repurpose land previously restricted under the Military Installation and Military Facilities Protection Act. This Act defines four categories of areas with security restrictions, including those near crucial military facilities and zones designated for Air Force operations.