U.S. Army Will Return 41.14 Million Pyongs

3 U.S. military camps in Yongsan area including Camp Kim, occupying over 14,000 pyongs, and 28 U.S. camps nationwide including Camp Hayaria in Pusan, occupying 2.14 million pyongs, and three U.S. military training camps in Kyonggi over 39 million pyongs and the facilities in them will be gradually returned to Korea by 2011.

The Korean government will provide 1.54 million pyongs to the U.S. military, including Marine training camp in Pohang, 300,000 pyongs around Camp Stanley in Uijongbu, 500,000 pyongs around Osan Airbase to support the merger of the U.S. camps in Korea.

Defense Minister Kim Dong-Jin and U.S.A.F.K Commander Gen. Thomas Schwartz reached a final agreement and concluded the negotiation of Land Partnership Plan (LPP) on 29th.

Consequently, the returning process will begin from next year and the original owners of the lands that will be returned would be possible to exercise their ownership from 2005.

The land to be returned is 55.3 percent of the total land (74.4 million pyongs) granted to the U.S. However, Camp Yongsan right in the middle of Seoul, occupying 780,000 pyongs, and the Maehyangri Range in Hwasung that had been hot issues.

Since 790,000-pyong new lands including a terminal area in Incheon International Airport and Aviation Operation Headquarter in Ichon will be provided to the U.S., severe protests of the residents of those areas are anticipated.

695,000 pyongs of 8 areas were newly added to the agreed plan at SCM in November last year. 9 places including Camp Page in Chuncheon and Camp Market in Bupyong were newly added to the original plan but Far East Engineer Corps was excluded for it.

Kwon Haeng-Geun, director of Yongsan Project, said, “it will take about 3 trillion 300 billion won in total for 10 years from now on to reorganize the U.S. Camps by this agreements. The U.S. will pay 1 trillion 840 billion won and Korea will take the rest of cost (1 trillion 490 billion won). The Korean government will make the money by selling out the land that Korea will take back from the U.S.”

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com