Q&A Session with MOFAT's Lee Jung-bin

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Jung-bin said, "For us, it is of the utmost importance that we keep the Korea-U.S. joint defense system since we already have national division and have had the Korean War." This was at the press conference on May 19 called to clarify the government's standpoint on recent incidents related with the U.S. Forces in Korea. He added, "The goverment has recognized the people's anxiety," and he asked people to control themselves and refrain from taking any undesirable actions.

The questions and answers from the press conference were as follows.

Q:- How will the talks on a revision of the U.S.'s Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) be carried out?

A:- Sooner or later, the U.S. Army is to send a revision plan to us. After that, negotiations will begin. The hand over period of U.S. criminal suspects and environmental pollution by the U.S. Army will be discussed at the revision talks.

Q:- What do you think about the anti-American sentiment that has surged again in recent days?

A:- The United States is the largest foreign market of Korea and the largest investor in Korean businesses. The various problems between Korea and the United States should be settled with a balanced point of view. It is not desirable to try to resolve them with radical measures.

Q:- In the future, will the land and equipment still be provided to the U.S. Forces in Korea for free?

A:- This issue will be discussed with the U.S. Army after the proper amount of land and equipment is calculated.

Q:- What about the proposed move of the Maehyangri Rifle Range?

A:- MOFAT will discuss this with other governmental ministries.

Q:- The calling of this press conference seems to be exceptional.

A:- "Not exceptional. The goverment called the press conference to inform the people of the goverment's standpoint and the situation on rivision talks because it was judged that the recent anti-American sentiment will do no good for the country.

by Lee Chul-hee