Ministry acquires 80% of land for U.S. base

The Defense Ministry said yesterday it has purchased nearly 80 percent of land necessary to build a new U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The ministry has requested a local court to allow for it to claim the remaining 20 percent, it said in a statement.

The purchasing begun June 14 to implement an agreement between Korea and the United States to reposition U.S. troops in the Yongsan Garrison and the 2nd Infantry Division to Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, by 2008.

As of Dec. 22, the ministry completed buying about 2.75 million pyeong, or 78.9 percent of the total 3.5 million pyeong land required with consent from the residents and landowners. One pyeong equals 3.3 square meters.

It deposited the remaining 0.73 million pyeong in the court for expropriation. It failed to buy the land plots due to disagreement with landowners over compensation or due to failure to find the owners.

The deposited land will be soon expropriated in accordance with legal procedures, the ministry said.

"The Defense Ministry will cooperate to establish a win-win strategy for the project with local residents and government by building residential towns for the moving-out people, executing 30 billion won allocated for supporting the local government," the ministry said.

(davidpooh@heraldm.com)





By Jin Dae-woong