USFK Individually Notifies Korean Workers of Unpaid Leave Starting April 1

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The US Forces Korea (USFK) reportedly notified Korean workers individually about unpaid leave. It is estimated that about 5,000 out of approximately 9,000 Korean workers will take unpaid leave starting next month on the 1st.

According to USFK and labor unions, the USFK Command sequentially notified Korean workers subject to unpaid leave on the 25th with individual notices of "unpaid leave starting April 1."

Some criticize that the US is using Korean employees of the USFK as "hostages" to gain an advantage in the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations on defense cost-sharing.

South Korea and the US have been negotiating the 11th SMA since last September, but have not reached an agreement due to disagreements over the total amount and other issues.

The government tried to prioritize discussions on labor costs to prevent unpaid leave for Korean workers before the SMA was finalized, but it is reported that the US side effectively rejected this.

The USFK had previously given advance notice of unpaid leave to Korean workers in October last year and last month. With about half of the Korean workers' duties suspended, it is analyzed that the USFK's combat readiness posture will also be affected.

Earlier, USFK Commander Robert Abrams stated, "Provisional unpaid leave will have ripple effects beyond negative impacts on military operations and readiness."

The USFK Korean labor union held a press conference in front of the Blue House Fountain in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the same day, urging that "only with support from the Korean government can the US's impure intentions be thwarted," and called for preventing unpaid leave caused by defense cost-sharing negotiations.

It is known that about 40%, or approximately 370 billion won, of last year's defense cost-sharing amount of 1.0389 trillion won was used for Korean workers' wages.

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