On the 7th, a passenger aircraft takes off from Gwangju Military Airport in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Jeolla. The government has selected Gwangju Military Airport as the site for the Honam semiconductor cluster. Yonhap News

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has designated the Gwangju Military Airport site and nearby areas as a Land Transaction Permission Zone. The Gwangju Military Airport site is where the Honam-region semiconductor cluster, one of the three government megaprojects, will be located.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City announced, following review by the Central Urban Planning Committee, that a total of 364㎞ of the planned site for the Honam Semiconductor Advanced National Industrial Complex project will be designated as a Land Transaction Permission Zone.

The area designated as a Land Transaction Permission Zone covers the Gwangju Military Airport site and adjacent areas, including Gwangsan-gu, Dong-gu, Seo-gu, Nam-gu, Buk-gu, Naju City, Jangseong County, and Hwasun County. The designation period runs from the 14th through July 13, 2028, for two years.

Since the Gwangju Military Airport site was finalized on the 6th as the location for the Honam-region semiconductor cluster, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been reviewing designation of this area as a Land Transaction Permission Zone, out of concern that nearby land prices could rise excessively. The Ministry has designated areas with speculation concerns arising from major national projects or development projects as Land Transaction Permission Zones.

In a Land Transaction Permission Zone, transactions involving land that exceeds certain sizes by land-use category require approval from the head of the local government. After obtaining approval, there is an obligation to actually use the land for the specified purpose for a set period. Speculative transactions not for genuine end use are effectively blocked.