U.S. Armed Forces in Korea Must Report Environmental Pollution Accident to Local Government

The U.S. Armed Forces In Korea (USFK) must report immediately by phone call and through written documents in 48 hours when an environmental accident occurs in the compound of U.S. bases.

Korea and the U.S. held a joint SOFA committee yesterday and adopted `the procedure to share and approach the environment information` which is to prevent the environmental pollution by USFK and to take appropriate measures including quick investigation when an accident occurs. And the local government officials will visit the base that has an environmental pollution accident to examine the pollution jointly with the U.S. experts. The two countries also agreed to apply the same regulation when the U.S. returns its military base to Korea, making possible the general investigation on the pollution of the U.S. bases before the returning.

The Joint Committee also decided the form of original plan for the building construction, which brought about confusions between the two countries in relation to the apartment construction plan in the Camp Yongsan. The original plan must include the title of the construction, location of the newly constructed facilities, and the scope of construction.

The new agreement of the Joint Committee provides the details of the Special Note On Environmental Protection,` singed by both countries on Jan 18th last year.

Kim Seung-Hwan, the director of the North American Bureau, said that "by this agreement, an institutional response to the environmental problems in the U.S. military camps based on SOFA is made possible."

Dong-Ki Sung taylor55@donga.com · Jong-Hoon Lee esprit@donga.com