Combined Forces Command prepares to say bye to Yongsan

A photo of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, south of Seoul, where the Combined Forces Command headquarters will relocate by early next month. [YONHAP]

The headquarters of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) will relocate to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, this month, ending a four-decade presence in Seoul's Yongsan District.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the relocation of the CFC’s headquarters is expected to wrap up by the end of the month.

“Through the relocation, the CFC plans to establish an even stronger combined defense system based on a strengthened alliance spirit and operational efficiency in Pyeongtaek, the new cradle of the alliance,” the ministry said in a statement.

Construction of the new CFC headquarters building in Pyeongtaek finished last month at a cost of 32.2 billion won ($22.42 million).

Approximately 700 South Korean and U.S. personnel currently serving at the CFC’s Yongsan headquarters will begin moving to Camp Humphreys starting early this month, while the CFC plans to hold a ceremony in November marking the end of the command’s era in Yongsan.

The Defense Ministry called the CFC “the symbol of the South Korea-U.S. alliance” and noted its success in defending South Korea from North Korean attacks and provocations.

The CFC was launched in 1978 and is tasked with leading the allies’ joint efforts to counter potential North Korean provocations and aggression.

Although the CFC is currently led by a four-star U.S. general, a South Korean general is expected to lead it after the conditional transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from Washington to Seoul takes place, with a U.S. general taking a supporting role.

South Korea has not held wartime Opcon since the 1950-53 Korean War, when it handed operational control over its troops to the U.S.-led United Nations Command. Opcon was subsequently transferred to the CFC when it launched.

The country regained peacetime Opcon in 1994, but the United States retains wartime operational control.

The joint South Korea-U.S. exercise at the end of August was led for the first time by a South Korean, CFC deputy commander Gen. Ahn Byung-seok, as part of a Full Operational Capability (FOC) assessment that precedes the transfer Opcon of the allies’ combined forces from Washington to Seoul.

The FOC assessment is the second phase of a three-part verification process to determine if South Korea is ready to lead the allies’ combined forces in wartime.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]