Military Protection Control Zone Near DMZ to Be Reduced

The Civilian Control Zone and the military protection area around the DMZ will be reduced in area by as early as the latter half of this year.

The reduction will affect a total of 88 million pyeong, an area 97 times larger than Yeouido in Seoul, in terms of development and public use.

On March 20, the government held a cabinet meeting presided over by President Roh Moo-hyun and passed a resolution on the amendment of the military base and facility protection law reducing the area of the two zones.

The draft amendment stipulates that the area of the Civilian Control Line (CCL) should be reduced from 15 kilometers to 10 kilometers to the south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), greatly reducing the coverage of the control protection zone.

To compensate, the government decided to increase the scope of the limited protection zone to 15 kilometers from 10 kilometers in the CCL, an extension of five kilometers.

A total area of about 68 million pyeong will be reclassified as being in the DMZ’s limited protection zone. Buildings may be freely constructed or expanded in the limited protection zone.

The government decided to submit the draft voted for on that day to the National Assembly.

However, some local residents in the affected zones argue that the CCL is already reduced to a great degree, so not much will change even if the amended draft is passed. They also expressed their disappointment over their demands excluded from the draft, including a reduction of the limited protection zone.