South Korea and the U.S. Agree on Returning 165,000㎡ of Yongsan Base, Boosting Yongsan Park Development Prospects

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The government announced on the 25th that it has agreed to return some U.S. military bases, including part of Yongsan Garrison (165,000㎡) and Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu (830,000㎡), through consultations between the joint chairmen of the ROK-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

On the same day, South Korea and the U.S. adopted a joint statement from the SOFA Joint Committee covering the return of U.S. military bases totaling 996,000㎡, including part of Yongsan Garrison, Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, and the Camp Stanley water intake facility (1,000㎡) in Uijeongbu.

They agreed to negotiate so that up to 500,000㎡, about one-quarter of the total area of Yongsan Garrison, will be returned within the first half of this year. This is somewhat delayed compared to the July last year agreement where both countries pledged to “make efforts for early return in 2022.”

Both sides agreed to continue discussions regarding responsible solutions for contamination issues, strengthening environmental management, and the possibility of revising SOFA-related documents concerning the return of these bases.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding Yongsan Garrison, since the U.S. military is currently using the base, conditions vary by area within the base, so receiving the entire area at once could take a long time. Therefore, they have been negotiating a phased return approach.

Accordingly, after the return of 165,000㎡, they plan to proceed with additional returns of a significant scale through related procedures within the first half of the year. If this plan proceeds as scheduled, it is expected to give momentum to the creation of Yongsan Park, which will become South Korea’s first national park.

Additionally, Camp Red Cloud, located in downtown Uijeongbu, covers a total area of 830,000㎡. Uijeongbu City plans to develop an e-commerce logistics complex there, which is expected to transform the area into a logistics hub for the metropolitan area and greatly contribute to regional economic revitalization.

Also, the Camp Stanley water intake facility (1,000㎡) will be returned this time, enabling the proper promotion of river maintenance projects to prevent flood damage in Buyongcheon Stream in Uijeongbu.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, “Both sides have activated the ROK-U.S. Environmental Working Group to conduct consultations in the environmental field. As a result, sharing of environmental information during peacetime, improvement of the ROK-U.S. response system in case of accidents, and specification of access procedures to U.S. military bases have been reflected in SOFA environmental-related documents.” He added, “We will continue to discuss joint environmental surveys and the establishment of environmental management standards.”

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