The soccer field and golf course located at Gwangju Military Airport in Gwangsan District will close early next year.
The closure is part of preparations for electrical system construction needed for the semiconductor industrial complex, as decided by the Defense Ministry.
According to Gwangju Metropolitan City, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), the preliminary operator for the semiconductor industrial complex project, recently sent a request to the city to suspend the use of Boramae Soccer Park.
The city forwarded this request to the Gwangju Sports Council the following day, asking to halt usage of the soccer park starting December 1.
The Gwangju Sports Council will finalize its schedule by the end of December and will not accept any new reservations starting next year.
Additionally, the nine-hole airport golf course, adjacent to the soccer park, will cease operations in the first half of next year based on the Defense Ministry's decision.
Discussions are ongoing with relevant agencies, including Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, to establish infrastructure, and plans have been confirmed in a Blue House meeting, accelerating the overall project.
Starting December 1, LH plans to use the area of Boramae Soccer Park, equivalent to four soccer fields, for storing construction materials and equipment necessary for the industrial complex.
With the closure of the military airport sports facilities, preliminary construction for the industrial complex will proceed in phases.
Before the electrical system construction and infrastructure maintenance work, access road construction will take place.
Construction of transmission lines is set to begin in June next year, with plans to supply 3.1 GW in the first phase by December 2028, ultimately reaching 6.3 GW.
The 2.5 million pyeong site of Gwangju Military Airport is a key area for a semiconductor cluster where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won to establish four semiconductor production lines (fabs).
Currently, LH is conducting studies related to the advanced national industrial complex candidate site.
According to the project plan, approvals and detailed design work are expected to begin in 2027, with temporary relocation of military airport functions and the start of fab construction in 2028, and completion of the first phase of the fab by 2029, with product production anticipated in early 2030.
The government, businesses, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Gwangsan District plan to gradually begin infrastructure work on the 630,000 pyeong site, including the ammunition depot area, which can be utilized immediately.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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