Defense Ministry Set to Launch Investigation into Noise Pollution from Military Facilities

A tank fires off a shell during an exercise at a range in Cheorwon, near the North Korean border. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 3 (Korea Bizwire) — An investigation is soon to be underway to measure noise levels at about 100 military airfields and shooting ranges throughout the country.

The Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it will launch an investigation to measure the noise level of military airfields and shooting ranges over the next year and a half, starting from this month to Nov. 2021, in a bid to provide compensation to residents living in the vicinity of these facilities.

This investigation is set to be carried out under the newly-established “Law on Noise Prevention and Compensation for Military Airfields and Shooting Ranges.”

The ministry plans to outsource the investigation to professional firms with noise measurement technologies. This investigation will be carried out for 42 military airfields and 61 military shooting ranges.

The investigation will also involve representatives of the residents and a group of private professionals recommended by the municipal governments wherein the military airfields and shooting ranges are located.

To ensure the objectivity and fairness of the investigation, these observers will participate in the entire process of the investigation ranging from planning to program briefing sessions and noise measurement.

Based on the results of the investigation, the ministry will designate the areas in which residents should be compensated in late 2021, with the first payments to residents scheduled for 2022.

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)