South Korean Workers for USFK Face Imminent 'Unpaid Leave'... US-ROK Defense Cost-Sharing Talks Resume After Two Months

Jeong Eun-bo, ROK-US Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiator, Departs for Los Angeles on 16th
Seventh Negotiation on 17th-18th

Jeong Eun-bo, the Special Representative for U.S.-Korea Defense Cost-Sharing Talks, is greeting before giving a briefing on the U.S.-Korea defense cost-sharing negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] As unpaid leave for Korean workers employed by the US Forces Korea (USFK) approaches, delegations from Korea and the United States are set to engage in final negotiations on the Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 16th, Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiator Jeong Eun-bo will lead the Korean delegation and depart for Los Angeles, USA, this afternoon. On the US side, James DeHart, the US Department of State's chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing, will lead the delegation and hold the seventh round of talks with the Korean delegation over two days on the 17th and 18th.

This defense cost-sharing negotiation comes two months after the sixth round held in Washington DC in January. It is the second negotiation held during the gap period following the expiration of the 10th SMA at the end of last year, and is likely to be a final negotiation about two weeks before the unpaid leave of Korean workers employed by USFK, which will take effect from April.

The gap between Korea and the US remains significant. The US initially proposed a defense cost-sharing amount exceeding five times the previous level, at 5 billion USD, then after one downward adjustment, is reportedly demanding comprehensive negotiations at around 4 billion USD.

The Korean delegation holds the position that the US proposal does not represent a fair and consensual level of defense cost-sharing. Accordingly, they have proposed a memorandum of understanding to first settle the labor cost items for Korean workers employed by USFK and then proceed with additional negotiations. There is no disagreement between Korea and the US regarding the labor costs for Korean workers, and Korea has already secured the budget at last year's level. However, the US has insisted on comprehensive negotiations and has not accepted Korea's proposal.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Our government maintains the basic stance of fair and reasonable defense cost-sharing within the existing agreement framework and will closely consult with the US side to promptly reach a mutually acceptable agreement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.