US to Let 14,000 American Soldiers` Families to Live in Korea

U.S. forces in Korea yesterday said they have made progress in normalizing the deployment period of American troops in Korea, which requires three years of service.

The U.S. Forces Korea and other sources said about 250 households of American servicemen have moved into the northern Seoul suburbs of Dongducheon and Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, since the second half of last year.

These families reside outside of U.S. military bases under permission from the U.S. government, a change in the previous rules governing American defense personnel in Korea.

The U.S. Forces Korea will relocate other American soldiers’ families to Korea in phases under a plan to normalize the service period.

A source said, “The U.S. Forces Korea will allow 4,000 families to reside in Korea in phase one and 7,000 families in phase two.”

“We will complete the relocation of 14,000 households to Korea by 2017.”

This means that nearly half of the 28,500 American servicemen in Korea will live in the country with their families.

The plan seeks to replace the nature of U.S. Forces Korea’s deployment from “frontline posting” to “frontline stationing,” extend their service period from one year to three, and allow service members to live with their families.

Once the plan is completed, it will allow the temporary transfer of certain U.S. troops in Korea to other regions beyond the Korean Peninsula.

mhpark@donga.com