Ministry of National Defense and Private Companies Clash Over Soil Pollution Cleanup Costs at Returned US Military Bases

Petroleum-Based Total Hydrocarbons Exceed Standard by 12 Times...Estimated Pollution Cleanup Cost Around 10 Billion Won

File photo (Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] A dispute over responsibility is ongoing between the private developer who purchased the land and the Ministry of National Defense regarding the cost of soil contamination cleanup at the returned U.S. military base site in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province.

Previously, the Ministry of National Defense cleaned the contaminated soil at Camp Sears (75,000㎡), the base in question, from 2013 until earlier this year, and then sold the site to the private developer Narivek City Development Co., Ltd.

The Uijeongbu city government, which has stepped in as a mediator, is considering issuing an administrative order for joint cleanup by both parties. The cleanup cost is estimated to exceed 10 billion KRW.

According to Uijeongbu city on the 7th, oil residues were found in part of the site planned for experience facilities, hotels, and apartments.

After the company commissioned a specialized agency to investigate 266 soil points and 3 groundwater points, petroleum-based total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were detected at a maximum of 6,505 mg/kg. This is more than 12 times the standard limit of 500 mg/kg.

TPH was also detected at 3.9 mg/L in some groundwater samples, exceeding the cleanup standard of 1.5 mg/L. TPH is a component containing gasoline-related substances, known to cause skin diseases and other health issues upon prolonged exposure.

The company estimates that the oil leaked from between the bedrock layers rather than soil contamination.

The company claims that Camp Sears consists of weathered rock, which is a weak type of bedrock classified as soil, and therefore the responsibility for cleanup lies with the Ministry of National Defense.

However, under the current Soil Environment Conservation Act, only soil contamination is subject to cleanup, and the Ministry of National Defense reportedly maintains that it is not responsible for cleaning contamination in the bedrock layers.

Uijeongbu city stated, "Since there is a difference in positions between the Ministry of National Defense and the developer, we will receive official opinions by the 8th and then issue an administrative order to devise a plan for soil contamination cleanup."

Camp Sears had nine fuel tanks installed in the 1960s and served to supply fuel to U.S. military bases in northern Gyeonggi. It was returned to South Korea in 2007 under the Korea-U.S. Joint Land Management Plan (LPP) and has been managed by the Ministry of National Defense since then.

Meanwhile, recently, Kim Min-chul (Uijeongbu-eul) of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed amendments to two laws, the "Special Act on Support for Areas Surrounding U.S. Military Bases in Korea" and the "Soil Environment Conservation Act," explicitly including bedrock in the cleanup targets.

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