US military has stocked $660 million in S. Korean defense contributions

Posted on : 2013-07-24 15:49 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Despite having accumulated a huge surplus, the US is asking that S. Korea increase its share in cost sharing agreement
 Solidarity for Peace and Unification of Korea stage a rally in front of the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul to call for fair negotiations on the USFK budget.
Solidarity for Peace and Unification of Korea stage a rally in front of the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul to call for fair negotiations on the USFK budget.

By Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporter

The amount of money from South Korean defense contributions that US forces in Korea have not used but are keeping in reserve was 738 billion won (US$660.37 million) as of April, the Hankyoreh has confirmed.

If this amount is added to the other 531.7 billion won that South Korea has been obligated to pay but was not used by the US military, a total of 1.27 trillion won (US$1.14 billion) has been contributed to defense cost sharing but not used.

On July 23, the Ministry of Defense submitted annual data on the accumulated amount of unused military funds for construction in the possession of US forces to United Progressive Party lawmaker Lee Seok-gi.

According to this data, the money that the US military has received in cash from the South Korean government and is holding on to was found to be 738 billion won as of April.

This figure includes 11.52 billion won from before 2005. The US army even still has 1.02 billion won that it received from the South Korean government in 2002, more than 10 years ago.

In the past, the South Korean government had indicated that it would not make an issue of this money, which it said would be “put to use before long.”

The fact that US forces in Korea were hoarding some of the vast sums of money paid by the South Korean government first came to light in 2008, when negotiations were underway for the eighth cost-sharing agreement.

At the time, the Ministry of Defense had said that 1.12 trillion won had been accumulated by the US army. Over the past five years, 381.3 billion won of that has disappeared.

However, US forces in Korea are not responding to the South Korean government’s request to clarify how this money was used.

The construction management department at the South Korean Ministry of Defense made an inquiry with the US army corps of engineers about how the remaining funds were being used on four occasions: Mar. 2009, July 2010, Mar. 2011, and Dec. 2012. But the US army engineers did not reply even once.

“We did not receive an official response to our request from the US army,” the Ministry of Defense said. “We are still asking for more detailed information.”

The US could be refusing to explain where the money is going because a substantial portion is being used in the relocation of the 2nd Infantry Division to the Pyeongtaek base.

In 2004, the US and the South Korean government agreed to the Land Partnership Plan (LPP), according to which the Yongsan Base and the 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu and Dongducheon would be moved to Pyeongtaek. At the time the plan was signed, the South Korean government agreed to cover the costs of moving the Yongsan Base, while the US government said it would handle the costs of moving the 2nd Infantry Division.

But now the revelation that the US government saved up the contribution it received in 2008 instead of spending it and instead used it to cover the cost of moving the 2nd Infantry Division is creating controversy.

Though this is a clear violation of the agreement, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is currently leading the negotiations for the ninth cost-sharing agreement, has indicated that it can no longer make an issue of this. Both sides have already come to an understanding on this issue, the Ministry says.

“The advantage that the US gains in the Asia and Pacific region through stationing forces in South Korea is significant,” Lee Seok-gi said.

“The US army has already amassed a huge pile of unused funds. For it to request an increase in Korea’s share of the defense budget in this situation is a serious insult to the pride of the Korean people.”

 

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