Exclusive "Fighter Jet Noise Damage Compensation Expanded"...Suwon City Efforts Bear Fruit

The noise damage compensation area around Suwon Military Airport is set to expand, with 3,000 to 4,000 residents who were previously excluded from compensation expected to newly benefit. This is interpreted as a partial reflection of improvements to the noise countermeasure area boundaries that residents and Suwon City have been continuously requesting.

According to Suwon City and others on the 11th, the Air Force Headquarters held a "Resident Briefing on Noise Impact Survey Results (Draft)" at the Gwonseon-gu Office at 10 a.m. and announced plans to re-designate the noise countermeasure area around Suwon Air Base. Around 100 residents affected by noise around the military airport attended the briefing.

According to the survey results presented by the Air Force Headquarters, the existing noise countermeasure area is expected to expand by approximately 1.9㎢, and approximately 707 new land parcels, including multi-unit housing, are anticipated to be incorporated into the compensation area.

Accordingly, the number of residents eligible for compensation, which was previously estimated at approximately 63,000, is expected to increase by 3,000 to 4,000, reaching approximately 66,000 to 67,000.

Notably, the survey results are meaningful in that the compensation area expands while maintaining the existing compensation target area.

The expansion of the compensation area appears to have been influenced by Suwon City and local residents' continuous requests for institutional improvements.

To date, Suwon City has recommended improvements to the military noise damage compensation system to the Ministry of Defense through forums such as the Local Government Council on Military Noise Damage Areas.

The main recommendations include realizing compensation rates reflecting inflation and social and economic conditions, eliminating compensation reduction standards, and improving compensation equity for buildings located on noise countermeasure area boundaries.

In particular, the city has continuously requested improvement of the problem where some buildings in the same apartment complex receive compensation while others are excluded.

In existing noise countermeasure areas, of 10 multi-unit housing complexes with 109 buildings straddling boundaries, only 59 buildings were included in the compensation target, with the remaining 50 buildings excluded.

In response, Suwon City recommended institutional improvements to the Ministry of Defense through official communications, and local apartment resident representative meetings and civic organizations also requested improvement of unreasonable compensation boundaries through collective complaints and petition submissions.

As a result, with the expansion of the noise countermeasure area's scope, some previously excluded multi-unit housing is expected to be included in the new compensation targets.

An official from Suwon City stated, "Through the Local Government Council on Military Noise Damage Areas, we have recommended improvements to the compensation system to the Ministry of Defense, and local residents have continuously raised the issue. As these aspects are gradually reflected, the compensation area has expanded this time," the official explained.

This noise impact survey is a survey conducted every five years in accordance with the "Military Airport and Military Firing Range Noise Prevention and Damage Compensation Act."

The Ministry of Defense and Air Force Headquarters have been conducting a noise impact survey around Suwon Air Base since December 2024 and plan to gather resident opinions until the 15th.

The Ministry of Defense plans to finalize and publicly announce the noise countermeasure area in December following a process of gathering opinions and conducting reviews. The newly confirmed noise countermeasure area will apply as the compensation standard until the next five-year re-designation cycle.

An official from Suwon City stated, "When the survey results are finalized and officially announced, we expect that some residents who have suffered damage but have not received compensation will be newly included in the compensation targets. We will continue to make recommendations for realizing compensation rates and improving unreasonable reduction standards."