▲ An aircraft prepares to take off at the airport in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Aug. 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Kim Hyun-soo

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry said Friday it will temporarily relocate the functions of the Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing in the southwestern city of Gwangju to three different locations.

The move is aimed at helping speed up the government's plan to build a new semiconductor cluster in Gwangju, a key part of its recently unveiled three megaprojects initiative. The Gwangju air base, home to the 1st Fighter Wing, has been picked as the site for the envisioned chip cluster.

The defense ministry plans to temporarily relocate three squadrons of the 1st Fighter Wing to three air bases, located in Yecheon, Seosan and Chungju, respectively, to minimize disruptions in their operational capabilities, according to officials.

"We plan to push for the temporary relocation using bases in Yecheon, Seosan and Jungwon in order to minimize its impact on operational capabilities and in light of the capacity of each base," a defense ministry official said, referring to the Jungwon Air Base in Chungju, some 105 km south of Seoul.

The 1st Fighter Wing oversees three flight training squadrons: two in charge of operating the T-50 training aircraft to train fighter pilots and one responsible for safeguarding the southwestern airspace of the Korean Peninsula with TA-50 Block 2 trainer jets.

The ministry is reportedly considering grouping together the two squadrons operating T-50 training aircraft into the air base in Yecheon and the TA-50 trainer jets to Seosan, according to officials.

"We will transfer the (functions) in an optimal way to ensure it does not affect training," a ministry official said, adding they are also reviewing ways to ensure the airspace or the assets needed for flight training does not become an issue.

On Monday, President Lee Jae Myung ordered the defense ministry to temporarily relocate the Gwangju military airport operations to another site by mid-2028.

The military plans to begin preparations for the temporary relocation this year and launch the construction of the air bases to accommodate the additional Air Force units starting next year.

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