Ministry Wants US Base Site Off Limits

It was reported yesterday that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) recently submitted an application for provisional measures to the court regarding trespassing and farming prohibitions on the 2,850,000-pyeong site in Daechu-ri, Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, being set aside as the planned location of a U.S. military base.

This is a part of groundwork to designate the site as a Military Installation Protection District in order to prevent unlawful farming by residents and civic group members.

A military source said that the MND asked the court for the off limits and farming prohibition on the 2,850,000-pyeong site in mid-April.

It was reported that the MND’s application said that “as the U.S. force relocation is a national enterprise, which Korea and U.S. agreed to and the National Assembly approved, and the ownership of the site had been transferred to the nation, any kind of farming activity or trespassing should be prohibited.”

A military official said, “Once the court accepts the prohibitive measures application, those who trespass or unlawfully farm on the site will be subject to fines or detention.”

The MND will deploy military construction support to stretch barbed wire around the 25-kilometer outer area of the site after moving forward with legal measures to strengthen the ownership of this site. At the same time, the MND is planning to obtain the national defense minister’s sanction to designate the site as a Military Installation Protection District.

In addition, the MND was informed by legal advisors that although rice seed residents have sown has grown over four to five centimeters long, the residents cannot claim ownership of the crops since the site is owned by the nation.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com