Korea, U.S. sign revised SOFA

Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Lee Joung-Binn and U.S. embassy charge d¡¯affairs Evans Revere signed the recently revised Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) Thursday.

The signing ceremony for the amended Korea-U.S. agreement on the legal rights of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea was held at the central government¡¯s building in Sejongno, downtown Seoul.

The revised SOFA will go into effect one month after the U.S. is notified of the completion of domestic legal procedures like parliamentary approval and the President¡¯s ratification. The government will submit the revised bill to the National Assembly around the end of this month at the earliest.

Emerging from the signing ceremony, Minister Lee said the SOFA amendment would contribute to efforts to stabilize the stationing of U.S. troops here, promote friendship between the peoples of the two countries and further strengthen their alliance.

U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, who was scheduled to represent the U.S. in the ceremony, was unable to attend due to his mother's illness. Revere attended the ceremony on behalf of the ambassador, a ministry official said.