Pyeongtaek City Requests Relaxation of Height Restrictions Around US Military Base

Mayor Jeong Jang-seon "Old Downtown, Mental and Economic Damage"

Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province has officially requested the government to ease height restrictions around the US military base.

On the 16th, Mayor Jeong Jang-seon issued an urgent appeal stating, "Pyeongtaek is growing with the goal of becoming a special city with a population of one million, alongside the establishment of various social and economic infrastructures such as Godeok International New City, Samsung Electronics, and KAIST. However, the old downtown area near the US military base suffers mental and economic damages due to aircraft noise and height restrictions." He emphasized, "We hope that with active cooperation from the US military and consideration from the government, the vicious cycle of resident damage that has continued for 70 years will be resolved."

Jeong Jang-seon, Mayor of Pyeongtaek (right), is announcing an appeal to ease height restrictions around the US military base at the city hall briefing room on the 16th.
[Photo by Pyeongtaek City]

To ease the height restrictions, the city submitted related documents to the Air Force on the 15th to proceed with the 'Military Base and Military Facility Protection Deliberation Committee review (hereinafter referred to as Military Protection Review)' procedure as stipulated by the Military Base Act. The city plans to request the commanders of each unit, including the K-6 Air Force 7th Airborne Communications Squadron and the K-55 Air Force Operations Command Support Group, to pass the Military Protection Review by December.

According to the city, 186.6㎢, which is 38% of Pyeongtaek’s total area of 487.8㎢, is designated as a 'Flight Safety Zone' under the Military Base Act. The Flight Safety Zone restricts building heights based on the elevation of the runway, and in this area, the height is limited to 45 meters.

The reason such a large area is designated as a Flight Safety Zone is because the US military’s Humphreys Base (K-6), the largest single base in the world, is located in the Anjeong-ri area of Paengseong-eup, and the US Air Force airfield (K-55) is located in Sinjang-dong.

Currently, 2.62㎢ of Sinjang-dong and 1.72㎢ of Dokgok-dong are included in the Flight Safety Zone. Paengseong-eup has 92.4% of its 56.8㎢ area designated as a Flight Safety Zone. More than 90% of Seotan-myeon and Seojeong-dong are also included in the zone.

Because of this, the city’s old downtown urban regeneration projects repeatedly face limitations in securing project feasibility due to the Flight Safety Zone, according to Pyeongtaek City’s position.

Since June, the city has also been conducting a 'Pyeongtaek Military Airport Flight Safety Impact Review and Old Downtown Revitalization Plan Establishment Project' to ease the height restrictions in the Flight Safety Zone.