[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Military Prime Land as a Candidate Site for Housing Supply

Taereung Golf Course panorama.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] As the Democratic Party of Korea and the government move to expand housing supply as a follow-up to the July 10 real estate measures, attention is focusing on land owned by the Ministry of National Defense. This is because not only the Tae-neung Golf Course area and the Korea Military Academy site, both military facilities in Nowon-gu, Seoul, but also the "prime" land where subordinate units of the Capital Defense Command are located in Seoul are being mentioned as potential housing supply sites.

The most seriously considered sites by the party and government are the Korea Military Academy and the Tae-neung Golf Course area, both military facilities in Nowon-gu, Seoul. The area alone amounts to 1,496,979㎡ (about 450,000 pyeong), and including the nearby Tae-neung Athletes' Village site, it reaches 2.5 million㎡. Considering that Seoul's Gireum New Town (1.24 million㎡), Singil Redevelopment Promotion District (990,000㎡), and Ahyeon Redevelopment Promotion District (760,000㎡) supplied between 19,530 and 18,500 housing units respectively, it is possible to supply more than 20,000 housing units. The Korea Military Academy is also highly valued for its location, being close to Hwarangdae Station and Bonghwasan Station on Subway Line 6, and Galmae Station on the Gyeongchun Line.

The issue of relocating the Korea Military Academy has been a persistent topic separate from housing supply measures. Established in 1946, the academy's buildings are aging, and with only about 4,000 personnel related to its operation, there have been criticisms about inefficient land use. The Air Force Academy relocated from Daebang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul to Cheongju, Chungbuk, and the Korea National Defense University moved from Sangam-dong, Seoul to Nonsan, Chungnam. For these reasons, voices calling for the relocation of the Korea Military Academy have emerged.

Many local governments hope to attract the Korea Military Academy. Dongducheon City in Gyeonggi Province is proposing Camp Hobby, a U.S. military base relocated to Pyeongtaek, as an alternative site for the academy. Camp Hobby covers a total area of 14.05 million㎡ (about 4.25 million pyeong), larger than the combined area of the Korea Military Academy and Tae-neung Golf Course. Hwacheon County in Gangwon Province recently officially proposed the relocation of the academy amid difficulties caused by the disbandment and relocation of local military units under Defense Reform 2.0. The number of military personnel in Hwacheon County is about 27,000, exceeding the resident population of about 24,000, so the disbandment of military units would inevitably worsen the local economy. Sangju City in Gyeongbuk Province held a staff academy last year to build consensus on attracting and relocating the Korea Military Academy and has been promoting the background for attracting the academy. Nonsan City in Chungnam Province, adjacent to Gyeryong City where the three military headquarters are located, argues that it is suitable for strengthening defense competitiveness and developing into a future defense city. These local governments present regional balanced development as the rationale for attracting the Korea Military Academy.

Sites with subordinate units of the Capital Defense Command are also emerging as new candidates. The Capital Defense Command's land includes the supply management unit in Namtaeryeong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, the zeroing range, the military police detachment in Noryangjin, Dongjak-gu, and the 56th Division headquarters and reserve forces training ground in Gupabal, Eunpyeong-gu. In particular, the Gangnam and Seocho reserve forces training grounds in Naegok-dong are considered prime land. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, part of the greenbelt in Naegok-dong was lifted to create a housing site for the public housing project. Currently, Seocho Public Housing District (a total of 3,304 households) and Naegok Public Housing District (a total of 4,629 households) are being developed.

The sudden focus on military sites arose after it was revealed that on the 15th, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi had lunch with Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo at the National Defense Convention in Yongsan-gu immediately after a morning meeting on party-government real estate measures. Among politicians and real estate experts, speculation spread that the two ministers discussed utilizing military land in Seoul for housing supply.

On the 15th, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "We have not discussed with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport any plans to build apartments on land with subordinate units of the Capital Defense Command." However, considering that the military sites mentioned as housing supply candidates are prime land located in the heart of Seoul, the controversy over candidate sites is expected to continue endlessly.