On the morning of the 7th, a joint inspection team was examining a damaged building at the site of an air force jet misfire accident in Nogok-ri, Idong-myeon, Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province, according to Yonhap News.
Gyeonggi Province and Pocheon City have urged the government to designate the area as a Special Opportunity Development Zone after it was already declared a special disaster area due to the jet misfire accident. On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it sent an official request to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy to designate Pocheon City as an Opportunity Development Zone.
The province is striving to designate Pocheon City as a Peace Economy Special Zone and an Economic Free Zone to revitalize the local economy and provide a new growth engine for northern Gyeonggi Province.
Lee Gye-sam, Head of Balanced Development at Gyeonggi Province, stated that declaring the special disaster area is only for damage recovery, and as compensation for 75 years of sacrifice and anxiety, the government should offer extraordinary measures aimed at future economic development, such as designating the area as an Opportunity Development Zone.
The Opportunity Development Zone program, led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a national agenda, is a system that provides tax and other benefits to companies in designated zones to attract regional investments and stimulate the local economy. Once designated as an Opportunity Development Zone, it can receive special exemptions on tax and regulations, offering a groundbreaking opportunity for regional development.
Under the Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Act, governors of non-capital areas can apply for an Opportunity Development Zone at any time. However, in the metropolitan area, only regions determined by the Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy among the 10 border and population-decline cities and counties can apply.
The challenge is that the Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy is contemplating the decision of regions, citing balanced development with non-capital areas. While 48 districts in non-capital areas like Busan have gone through three rounds of designations and the fourth is underway, Gyeonggi Province has not been able to apply at all.
Pocheon City, a population-declining, border area within the metropolitan region, suffers the added hardship of being excluded from the benefits of zone designation for industrial investment, regulatory easing, and attracting young populations due to its location in the metropolitan area. If designated as an Opportunity Development Zone, Pocheon City could potentially develop into a hub for the drone defense industry and utilize the military shooting range as a point for collaborative development between the civilian, corporate, and military sectors.
Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province and Pocheon City have urged the government to prepare guidelines for zonal applications for border and population-decline areas within the metropolitan region and designate Pocheon City as an Opportunity Development Zone for local economic recovery and growth.
Pocheon City Council issued a statement on the 12th, demanding action from the authorities and government regarding the jet misfire accident. Their four demands include an official apology and disciplinary action against those responsible from the military, compensation for civilian damage and preventive measures for recurrence, a comprehensive overhaul of training methods and procedures including pre-training notification, and immediate closure or relocation of the training site.
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon plans to visit Nogok-ri in Idong-myeon, Pocheon City, at 3:40 p.m. on the 13th to check the status of mishap recovery.