US Defense Department makes another reference to unpaid leave for Korean USFK employees

Posted on : 2020-02-25 17:44 KST Modified on : 2020-02-25 17:44 KST
DOD releases press advisory in series of overt pressure efforts
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

A day ahead of bilateral defense minister talks, the US Department of Department made another reference to unpaid leave for South Korean employees working for US Forces Korea (USFK) while pressuring for a large increase in South Korea’s financial contribution to stationing US troops. The demand was the latest in a series of unprecedented overt pressure efforts.

In a Feb. 23 press advisory, the US Department Defense (DOD) announced that South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper would be holding bilateral talks at the Pentagon in Arlington (near Washington, DC) on the afternoon of Feb. 24. The department explained that the two ministers would be discussing “a range of bilateral issues including the regional security environment, policy towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), transition of wartime operational control (OPCON), and the US ROK Special Measures Agreement (SMA).”

All of that came in the advisory’s first paragraph. Uncharacteristically, the DOD then dedicated the remaining four to the topic of the SMA and a message pressuring for a larger defense contribution from South Korea.

The department stressed that the SMA plays a significant role in USFK stationing costs.

“Contributions are divided across three categories: Korean National labor, ROK funded construction, and logistics, with the vast majority of SMA contributions going back into the ROK economy,” it continued.

The advisory went on to note that support provided under the 10th SMA ended as of Dec. 31 of last year.

“Since then, in the absence of ROK agreement to a new SMA [. . .] US Forces Korea (USFK) has taken the additional step to enable continuity of its operations by programming US funds to sustain the salaries of its Korean National workforce,” it explained.

“These US funds will be exhausted on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, unless the ROK government agrees to materially increase its support for US forces committed to the defense of the ROK,” it continued.

“If agreement cannot be reached on a comprehensive new SMA, it will be necessary to furlough most KN employees on April 1, 2020, and suspend many construction and logistics activities,” it warned.

At the same time, the DOD said it would provide the necessary funds to pay South Korean workers providing services in the areas of health and safety, adding that “[a]ll other services supported by KN employees will need to be suspended in an orderly and deliberate fashion.”

“Furloughs may be avoided if the ROK agrees to a more equitable SMA,” the department continued.

The advisory concluded by saying, “The United States remains committed to negotiating a mutually acceptable agreement which provides for fair and equitable burden sharing and strengthens the US-ROK alliance.”

The defense cost sharing negotiations involve separate delegations supervised by the two sides’ respective foreign ministers, but the press advisory content shows that the US is now applying explicit pressure from outside of that framework. On Jan. 29, USFK issued a preliminary announcement stating that its South Korean workers could be provisionally furloughed as of Apr. 1 if a cost sharing agreement cannot be concluded.

Jonathan Rath Hoffman, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said in a Feb. 19 press briefing that the issue of defense cost sharing would definitely be discussed at the upcoming defense minister talks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Esper previously added to the pressure on South Korea to increase its defense-cost share in a jointly authored column in the Wall Street Journal, “South Korea Is an Ally, Not a Dependent.”

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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