USFK refuses to share costs

입력 2008. 10. 17. 12:35 수정 2008. 10. 18. 00:05
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U.S. Forces Korea has refused to share the expenses the Korean government was forced to pay for lawsuits involving U.S. military activities, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

Seoul requested that USFK pay some 12.2 billion won ($9.8 million) in costs it incurred while compensating Korean residents claiming to have suffered damage due to U.S. troop bases here.

The request was based on the Status of Forces Agreement the regulations which stipulate the legal status and boundaries for U.S. troops.

Most of the 12.2 billion won was to cover legal fees for five lawsuits involving problems related to the Maehyang-ri firing range and U.S. air bases in Gunsan.

"There is virtually no way to enforce the court decision in regard to our joint military expenses because while SOFA encourages the United States to accommodate negotiations and accept the Korean court decisions, there are no rules forcing the troops to comply," the Justice Ministry said in a report to the National Assembly during a parliamentary audit.

Lee Choon-seok, the Democratic Party lawmaker who received the report called for the government to "pull out all stops" to achieve the burden-sharing.

In 2005, a court ruled that Seoul pay 1,800 residents of Maehyang-ri in Gyeonggi Province compensation for some 8.1 billion in damage from the firing range there.

The government later requested the USFK share the burden, but the United States has yet to comply.

SOFA rules call for the USFK to pay for 75 percent of court-ordered compensation, or to reach a compromise with the Korean government in case military activities were caused damage.

The USFK, however, is refusing to pay by citing a clause stipulating that the USFK may choose to differ if the Korean court`s decision was out of sync with its own judgment.

The same article also protects the U.S. forces from third-party claims as the troops are guaranteed use of the military facilities and areas provided by Korea.

There are some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula to deter North Korea from launching another invasion.

By Kim Ji-hyun

(jemmie@heraldm.com)

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