U.S. Forces Propose Land Swap

In accordance with revisions to SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement), U.S. Forces in Korea will return 66 million square meters of land to the Korean government.

"Any idle portion of 66 million square meters will be returned from a total of 245 million square meters in use by the 8th Army. As part of the Combined Master Plan, the U.S. Army is requesting 19 million square meters of land elsewhere," says Kim Tae-young, a brigadier general in the Korean Army. The swap is expected to be the first step in a long-term plan to settle the issue of the U.S. military's property rights in Korea.

To this purpose, the Korean government has formed a special committee within the Ministry of National Defense, which believes that the Combined Master Plan is a U.S. attempt at consoliding scattered U.S. bases on the peninsula.

"We are considering their proposal, but the acquisition of new lands in urban areas would pose new problems," remarked Kim Jong-hwan, a lieutanant general in the Korean Army.

by Kim Min-seok