USFK Korean Workers' 'Unpaid Leave' D-1, Defense Cost-Sharing Talks Escalate to the Extreme

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "We Will Do Our Best in the Remaining Period"... USFK Headquarters Sends Final Notice of Unpaid Leave Decision
Government Support Measures Expected if Unpaid Leave Becomes a Reality

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] "We will do our best for the remaining period."

A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this statement ahead of the implementation of unpaid leave for Korean workers employed by the US Forces Korea. With the possibility of a last-minute agreement extremely low, the US-ROK defense cost-sharing negotiations have ultimately reached a situation that threatens the livelihoods of about 4,000 Korean workers.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related departments on the 31st, the US Forces Korea Command will begin forced unpaid leave for about 4,000 Korean workers starting April 1, citing delays in the conclusion of the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing between South Korea and the US. This accounts for nearly half of the total 9,000 Korean workers, and it is known that the US Forces Korea Command already sent the 'Final Notice of Unpaid Leave Decision' to the affected workers on the 25th.

With just one day before the implementation of unpaid leave, the possibility of progress in negotiations is extremely low. The seven rounds of negotiations between South Korea and the US since last September have failed to narrow the gap in positions. In the mid-month negotiations, the US side officially rejected South Korea’s proposal for a 'priority agreement on labor costs.' This unprecedented situation of unpaid leave confronts the 70-year history of the US Forces Korea rooted in the US-ROK alliance.

The US side has insisted on a "significant increase in defense costs and a comprehensive agreement," stating that "greater focus and flexibility are needed." The US demands $5 billion, which is five times the previous year’s contribution of 1.0389 trillion won, while South Korea counters with an increase rate of around 10%. Although the US somewhat lowered the increase amount and pushed for a comprehensive agreement, the Korean delegation still judges that it is "hard to see it as a fair and reasonable level."

The US side is expected to face criticism for holding onto an absurdly large increase in defense costs while using Korean workers as leverage. Last year, the labor costs paid by the US to Korean workers of the US Forces Korea amounted to only 70 billion won out of the total 570 billion won, about 12%. The rest was all covered by South Korea’s contribution.

The Korean delegation, led by Ambassador Jeong Eun-bo, chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing, plans to conduct non-face-to-face negotiations until the day before unpaid leave begins. However, if no agreement is reached until the last moment, the government is expected to announce its position and support measures for Korean workers facing livelihood issues. Earlier, the issue of defense cost-sharing negotiations was discussed at the Standing Committee of the National Security Council (NSC), chaired by National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, where various support measures for Korean workers were reportedly discussed.

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