Military

Release No. 030505 

SOFA JOINT COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING CONVENED TO ANNOUNCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO IMPROVE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOFA

SEOUL, Republic of Korea (USFK) May 31, 2003 - The Special Meeting for the SOFA Joint Committee was held at the Bilateral Conference Room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 30 May 2003. During this meeting, both the ROK and the US representatives evaluated the positive accomplishments that have been made so far to improve the implementation of SOFA since the deaths of the two girls last year and checked the progress of implementation so that measures agreed upon by the two sides can be executed without failure. 

The meeting was presided over by the ROK Co-chair, Dir Gen Shim Yoon-jo of the North American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the US Co-Chair, Lt Gen Lance L. Smith, Deputy Commander USFK, with the attendance of co-chairs of the ROK-US Special Joint Task Force for improvement of the operation of SOFA, Dep Dir Gen Lee Yong-joon of MOFAT and Maj Gen James N. Soligan, Deputy Chief of Staff, USFK, and the chairs of relevant subcommittees. 

First, the two sides assessed that many measures had been taken to prevent any similar accident during military exercise since the deaths of the two middle school girls on 13 June of last year and then signed the agreement on comprehensive operational training and safety measures that features advance notification of training and vehicle movement plans to prevent accidents during USFK military exercises, improved areas associated with training safety, strengthening of safety training, along with expansion of roads used for vehicle movement in training and expansion of safety facilities.

The agreement is the product of months-long review and consultation on comprehensive actions necessary to prevent accidents during training at the Joint Working Group joined by experts from the USFK, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, and the Ministry of National Defense.

The two sides also signed an agreement on environmental contamination surveys and remediation applicable to returns or projected grants of facilities and areas of USFK. According to the agreement, the two sides may conduct environmental surveys if needed in case of returns or projected grants of USFK facilities and areas. Following the surveys, if required, the US side will take remediation actions regarding contamination in facilities and areas to be returned in accordance with the SOFA while the ROK side will conduct remediation if contamination is found in facilities and areas subject to projected grants. Detailed procedures of environmental surveys, consultation on the scope of remediation and implementation of remediation actions were also developed. 

As a result of the agreement, procedures to resolve environmental issues in case of returns of USFK facilities and areas are now put in place in a systematic manner, therefore ensuring that the two countries can smoothly resolve environmental remediation issues regarding installations to be returned.

Besides the agreements stated above, the two sides assessed that the Special Joint Task Force (SJTF) that have been in operation since 20 Dec 02 has achieved substantial and visible improvements for the implementation of the SOFA in major areas that have significant impact on the safety and daily life of the public. 

The ROK-US SJTF has met 14 times thus far, almost every week since its establishment on 20 Dec 02, and as a result of strong will and efforts on both sides, the SJTF has reached an agreement on the following measures in addition to the above agreements on operational safety measures and procedures of environmental remediation:

1) Ways to strengthen mutual cooperation in investigation of incidents of concurrent jurisdiction at the initial stage of accidents

2) Conducting pilot environmental surveys on the initial two USFK installations to be returned 

3) Establishing "Detailed mediation procedures for the Central Labor Commission" in regards to labor disputes of Korean national employees within the USFK

4) Improving USFK personally owned vehicle (POV) administration registration and licensing systems and committing the USFK personnel to compliance with ROK transportation law

5)     Developing ways to expedite advance payment of medical costs and funeral service costs, in case of non-official-duty accidents caused by USFK personnel

6)     Establishing procedures for in-kind construction  to implement the recent Land Partnership Plan (LPP) agreement that provide the ROK side full participation throughout the design and construction process of each project in order to minimize costs

The two sides reaffirmed that they will make steady efforts to ensure improved implementation of the ROK-US SOFA in a way that the Korean public is protected while the conditions for USFK's presence in Korea are enhanced. The US side expressed its will to reinforce exchanges and cooperation with the local communities through its recently announced "Good Neighbor Program" in order to foster the image of the USFK living together with local residents into a basis for the future image of the matured ROK-US alliance.

Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, Commander United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea, met with Cho, Young-kil, Minister of National Defense and Gen. Kim, Jong Hwan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss future force enhancements for U.S. Forces in Korea.

During the meeting, Gen. LaPorte discussed the operational requirement for both ROK and US capability improvements to enhance Combined Forces Command's capability to deter aggression and to guarantee the security of the Republic of Korea. Gen. LaPorte then highlighted plans for U.S. capability enhancements to be implemented over the next three years.

"These enhancements represent a more than $11 billion U.S. investment in peninsula security and regional stability" said Gen. LaPorte. "Our upgrades in capabilities demonstrate our firm U.S. commitment to the long-standing ROK-U.S. alliance."

Gen. LaPorte outlined several near-term enhancements during his meetings with Minister Cho and Gen. Kim including upgrades to the intelligence collection systems, increased numbers of improved precision munitions, rotational deployment of the Army's newest Stryker unit to improve responsiveness, and additions to Army pre-positioned stocks to increase readiness to defend the Republic of Korea.

Minister Cho, Gen. Kim, and Gen. LaPorte agreed that enhancing both the Republic of Korea and U.S. deterrence military capabilities is critical to ensure the ROK-U.S. alliance is postured to meet the requirements of the future. They also agreed to continue consultations as near term enhancements are implemented on the Korean peninsula and plans for long-term force enhancements are developed.