Military Protection Zone

[Anchor Lead]

Military protection zones, measuring over half of all land in capital Seoul, have been freed from restrictions. The government has decided to lift restrictions on 21 of military protection zones across the country. It's the largest scale in 24 years. Here's more.

[Pkg]

This is a town in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province. Though just ten kilometers away from Seoul, no high rise buildings or commercial establishments can be seen here. This is because development is restricted in this area, which is designated as a military facility protection zone.

[Soundbite] Noh Cheol-yong (Goyang) : "We suffer a great deal of financial loss. People who own private properties long for deregulation."

The government has decided to lift restrictions on 21 of these zones across the country. Their combined landmass measures some 337 million square meters, which is about 116 times larger than Seoul's Yeouido area and more than half of all land in the capital city. The 21 zones account for 3.8% of all military protection zones in the country. It's the largest-scale deregulation of protection zones in 24 years since 1994. Most of the deregulated zones are located near the inter-Korean border in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do Provinces, with 58% concentrated in Gangwon-do's Hwacheon County.

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon (Policy Chief, Democratic Party) : "Development projects can take place without consulting the military, allowing locals to exercise their property rights while giving a boost to local economies."

The military will also accordingly seek to reduce inconveniences felt by local residents in the border area such as introducing automation in entry procedures for crossing the civilian control line. But some have also called for measures to address the side effects of the deregulation including higher land prices and reduced space to conduct military operations.