Yeongcheon Selected as a Preliminary Candidate Site for Daegu Military Base Relocation
Ministry of National Defense Chooses Based on Mission Feasibility and Residential Environment Evaluation
The Ministry of National Defense and related agencies are accelerating their efforts regarding the selection of a candidate site for the relocation of the Daegu military base, which had been in a temporary lull, and local governments hoping to attract the military base are on high alert about the outcome.
Yeongcheon City announced on the 21st that the Ministry of National Defense selected Yeongcheon City, Sangju City, and Gunwi County as preliminary candidate sites at the review committee meeting for the Daegu military base relocation preliminary candidate site selection held on the afternoon of the 20th.
The Daegu military base relocation project aims to move five military bases within Daegu Metropolitan City (Army 2nd Operations Command, 50th Division Headquarters, 5th Logistics Support Command, Air Force 1st Missile Defense Brigade, Air Defense Artillery School) to revitalize the local economy and improve conditions for military mission execution and the residential environment for military families. Daegu City called for local governments wishing to host the military base in September 2022, and in October of the same year, five cities and counties including Yeongcheon City, Sangju City, Gunwi County, Uiseong County, and Chilgok County submitted candidate sites. Since then, Yeongcheon City has been actively promoting its bid.
Yeongcheon City's candidate site is the Maeho-ri area in Imgo-myeon. Nearby, a civilian-military coexistence complex town (south side of Mangjeongwoo Logi Park) is being developed. The outdoor comprehensive training ground (shared firing range) requested by the Ministry of National Defense and Daegu City last year covers approximately 4 million pyeong and consists of indirect fire weapons (60mm, 81mm mortars), direct fire weapons (machine guns, etc.), and tactical training grounds. Its location spans Dangji 2-ri in Hwasan-myeon to Gujeon and Oncheon-ri in Hwanam-myeon.
The Ministry of National Defense, to select the optimal relocation candidate site, agreed on the selection method with Daegu City, explained it to the local governments including Yeongcheon City that wished to host the base last year, and then conducted evaluations based on the candidate sites proposed by the local governments.
In this regard, the Ministry of National Defense first assessed the feasibility of uninterrupted military mission execution during wartime and peacetime by conducting on-site inspections of the garrison and training ground sites for each candidate site of the respective military branches. To ensure the living conditions of soldiers and their families, the Korea Defense Research Institute evaluated the residential environment based on basic data (urban and military management plans, etc.) submitted by each local government.
As a result, Yeongcheon City, Sangju City, and Gunwi County were evaluated as suitable for operational, logistics, and welfare functions and effective training. Although there was little difference in residential environment among the candidate sites, when evaluated by the same indicators, Yeongcheon City, Sangju City, and Gunwi County scored higher than the national average.
Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense selected these three locations as preliminary candidate sites for the Daegu military base relocation and delivered the results to Daegu City. Among these, the final relocation candidate site will be selected by Daegu City based on evaluations of project feasibility and acceptability.
Daegu City has stated that it plans to evaluate the project feasibility and acceptability of the three preliminary candidate sites and decide on one final relocation candidate site by March.
Choi Ki-moon, Mayor of Yeongcheon City, said, "With the Ministry of National Defense's decision to select multiple candidate sites, the competition to attract the base is expected to become more intense," adding, "It is very important for citizens to unite and show a firm will to attract the Daegu military base. We ask for the interest and support of all citizens."
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